Teenage Pregnancy Strategy

1
Teenage Pregnancy Strategy

• What are the Strategys goals?
• Why Teenage Pregnancy matters
• Progress to date
• What works
• Underlying Risk Factors
• Supporting Teenage Parents

2
Teenage Pregnancy Strategy Targets

• ?Halve the under-18 conception rate by 2010
  (compared to 1998 baseline) - as part of a
  broader strategy to improve young peoples sexual
  health
• ?Improve outcomes for teenage parents and their
  children, with a target to increase the
  proportion of 16-19 mothers in education,
  employment or training (EET) to 60 by 2010
• ?Also contributes to wider Government targets to
  reduce infant mortality rates (DH) reduce
  proportion of young people who are NEET (DCSF)
  and reduce the number of children growing up in
  workless households (DCSF/DWP)

3
Why teenage pregnancy matters

• Individual and societal cost of unplanned
  pregnancies that end in abortion (almost half of
  all conceptions to under-18s).
• Poor child health outcomes 60 higher rates of
  infant mortality 25 higher incidence of low
  birth weight higher rate of admissions to AE (
  teenage mothers 3 x more likely to smoke
  throughout pregnancy, 50 less likely to
  breastfeed and more likely to present late for
  ante-natal care than older mothers).
• Poor maternal emotional health well-being 3 x
  higher rate of post-natal depression and a higher
  risk of poor mental health for 3 years after the
  birth.
• Poor long-term economic prospects 22 more
  likely to be living in poverty at age 30, and
  much less likely to be employed or living with a
  partner 20 more likely to have no
  qualifications at age 30.
• Resulting in children born to teenage mothers
  being 63 more likely to live in poverty more
  likely to experience behavioural problems and be
  economically inactive as adults.

4
Progress since Teenage Pregnancy Strategy
launched (1998-2005)

• ?11.8 decline in under-18 conception rate
• ?12.1 decline in under-16 conception rate
• ?Under-18 rate at the lowest level for over 20
  years
• ?2006 1st quarter rate shows continuing downward
  trend
• ?.but England still has high rates compared to
  rest of Western Europe and behind trajectory
  needed to meet PSA target

5
Progress to dateEngland under-18 conception
rate 1998-2005

• Rate 41.1 per 1000
• 39,700 conceptions
• 47 lead to abortion

6
Delivery matters 83 of LAs have declining rates
but 17 have static or increasing rates
Percentage change in under-18 conception rates by
top-tier LA, 1998-2005
7
Factors evident in high performing areas, that
were absent or being delivered less intensively
in statistically similar areas where rates were
increasing

• ?Strategic senior local sponsorship and
  engagement of all key partners
• ?Data local data and population knowledge used
  to inform provision of local services and
  targeted action
• ?Communication clear communication with partners
  as well as communicating messages to young
  people, parents and communities
• ?Strong delivery of sex and relationships
  education (SRE) within PSHE by schools
• ?Young people focused contraception/sexual health
  services, trusted by teenagers and well known by
  professionals working with them

8
Factors evident in high-performing areas
(continued)

• ?Targeted work with at risk groups of young
  people, in particular Looked After Children and
  Care Leavers
• ?Workforce training on sex and relationships
  issues within mainstream partner agencies
• ?A well resourced Youth Service, with a clear
  remit to tackle big issues, such as teenage
  pregnancy and young peoples sexual health
• ?Work on raising aspirations of young people most
  at risk including positive activities (a new
  statutory duty for LAs)
• ?Support for parents on SRE to encourage early
  discussion with their children

9
While delivery is crucial, also need to tackle
underlying risk factors Deprivation (50 of
conceptions in 20 of wards)
10
Underlying risk factors (2)Educational
attainment has an impact on conception rates over
and above the effects of deprivation
11
Underlying risk factors (3) other factors that
increase risk

• ?Poor school attendance dislike of school
  important predictor
• LAC/ care leavers 3 times prevalence of
  motherhood lt18
• Ethnicity teenage motherhood higher in mixed
  white and black Caribbean, other black and black
  Caribbean young women
• Teenagers with a previous pregnancy 20 births
  conceived to under 18s are to teen mothers 7.5
  of under 18 abortions are repeat abortions
• Low maternal educational aspirations of daughter
  at age 10
• Conduct disorders and mental health problems

12
Improving outcomes for teenage parents and their
children

• Guidance issued to LAs and PCTs focussing on
  improving child health outcomes improving
  teenage mothers emotional health and well-being
  and improving young parents labour market
  prospects
• Better support part of long-term strategy to
  reduce conception rates 2nd pregnancies
  removing underlying factors that increase risk of
  TP among children
• Increase in proportion of 16-19 year old mothers
  participating in EET increased from an average
  of 23.1 (1997-99) to an average of 31.5
  (2005-07)