General Chat

Your coming up with some interesting stuff Rose . I should definitely agree with the " socio-economic problems " point . I happen to live in a town that has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the country and we are an employment black spot : (

Two of my daughters have become very young mothers as have a great many of their friends .

Amanda,
just looking through articles

"The teenage pregnancy rate in Holland is only one-fifth as high as that of the UK – only five births per 1,000 teenagers compared to the UK's 27. Its abortion rate per teenage head of the population is also one of the lowest in Europe."

I'm trying to find some european details but this is quite interesting

"Statutory PSHE is absolutely crucial in reducing teenage pregnancy, particularly for vulnerable young people, but all children and young people need equipping with the skills and knowledge to help manage their lives."

Deprivation

But a later study of almost 5,000 pupils in 24 schools looked at how factors outside the classroom might influence their sexual behaviour.

The upshot was that the socio-economic characteristics of the neighbourhood were the main influence: the higher the deprivation, the more likely they were to be having sex at an earlier age.

"What the results tell us is that to make an impact on levels of early sexual activity and pregnancy the government would need to tackle deprivation and socio-economic problems within neighbourhoods," Dr Henderson said.

In a review carried out in North East Lincolnshire, which has a particularly high rate of teenage pregnancy, poor sex education was only one of the factors found to be at play.

At least as important were local culture, including poor self-image; substance misuse and economic factors, especially deprivation, councillors were told. "

but I will say as an IVF paticipent the talk of people not wanting their off springs can be hard.

Me I know I'm better off without . but some comments still hurt

Sue no attack from me

Rose I will say

My sis nearly aborted her child when she was 17 he died at the age of 5 and her marriage at 17 went to pieces when she was 23.
Should she have aborted that child who gave us 5 fantastic years. No nor she have aborted the child they had when they were only 16. which she didn't but went for adoption.

My friend aborted her child and I understood her twins were only 14mths old

I am going to leave myself open to attack but here goes:

Locally there is a culture of single mothers (very young), which is perpetuating through generations. Don't just take my word for it I had a long discussion with local plod and he and I both agreed that it's becoming a bloody lifestyle choice.

The reasons:

No consequences for the mother or father. The only suffering is experienced by the baby. No stable family, financial deprivation, poor housing etc.,

NB I am not addressing ALL teenage pregnancies, some of which are caused through ignorance.

I do not have the answer I just know that it cannot go on. These children (that is what they are), destroy their young lives without knowing it. They haven't seen better within their own family so know no different. They haven't got a good formal education, lack literacy and numeracy skills and where do they end up after the children have grown?

I can't express how I feel very well because I get so damn frustrated seeing these girls and their babies.

Sue x

I 'm wondering if the " teenage pregnancy " figure is based on the amount of babies born to teenage Mums in England . Or do the figures count the cases of abortions and full term pregnancies ?

Do other countries have a higher abortion rate ?

Keep their kids on a short rope may work,Europe are more family honored than we are,,,,,plus the kids have slighlty more respect for the family as a whole.

Well I didn't know that !!! Thinking about it though it HAS been a while since I've seen a direct ad on TV for Durex etc.

I'm sure though that i've seen (relatively recently) ads where the girls/boys are snogging people totally drunk...and you get the names of STD's flashing up on the screens though?

I haven't a clue why our pregnancy record is so bad in the UK...I wish I did...but I'm not informed enough on the subject to really make a comment on that. ...sadly...so I will watch the replies with interest xx

"Restrictions on condom adverts could also be relaxed, as part of plans aimed at reducing high UK rates of teenage pregnancy and sexual infections.

They suggest condom adverts could be shown before the 2100 watershed.
Currently, Channel 4 is the only channel where condoms can be advertised from 1900. "

Caution as to content!


I don't think I will debate the abortion help ads...but this also is on the same article re health and advertising ( on BBC web site)

"BCAP said the Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health had called for a relaxation of the rules on condom advertising, after a rise in teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

It pointed to figures which showed over 11,000 under-16s were diagnosed with chlamydia, herpes, gonorrhoea, syphilis or genital warts from 2002 to 2006. "

"When it comes to teenage pregnancy, the UK stands out.
Unfortunately, it is for the wrong reasons - the country has the highest rate in Europe."

Any opinions as to why that is? What does the rest of Europe do that we don't?