Teen pregnancy rate on the rise in Devon

By [rbirch]

DEVON’S teenage pregnancy  rate has risen over the last decade despite a government pledge  to halve it.

The county bucked the national downward trend in women  aged under-18 getting pregnant  over the last 10 years, and actually saw a slight increase.

Devon’s teen pregnancy rate  also showed a year on year rise,  while other areas saw a drop  from a “spike” in 2007.

A total of 450 women under 18  fell pregnant in Devon in 2008, up  from 442 in 2007, and 406 in 2006.

This gave an under-18 conception rate in 2008 of 33.4 per 1,000  women aged 15-17 falling pregnant. This is compared to 32.9 in  1998, a 1.4 per cent increase.

Exeter currently has the  highest teenage pregnancy rate  in the Devon County Council  area — 47 out of every 1,000 under-18s conceive.

But nationally, the pregnancy  rate among girls under 18 has  fallen, according to the Office of  National Statistics data.

Ministers pledged to halve  England’s under-18 pregnancy  rate by this year against a 1998  baseline of 46.6 conceptions per  1,000 girls aged 15 to 17. The  statistics show a rate of 40.4 per  1,000 girls in 2008, a drop of just  over 13 per cent against the  baseline figure and a three per  cent fall since 2007.

Dr Virginia Pearson, director  of public health at NHS Devon,  said: “Devon has low rates of  teenage pregnancy, below South  West and national averages.

“We are seeking to reduce our  rates even further, with messages to young people about the  benefits of delaying early sex,  first class relationships and sex  education, and better access to  advice about contraception.”

Schools Secretary Ed Balls has  defended the Government’s record on teenage pregnancies, but  said it would be hard to achieve  the 50 per cent reduction.

“It was a really ambitious target,” he said. He said that measures to tackle teen pregnancies  were proving successful, but  were not enough.

Labour MP for Exeter Ben  Bradshaw said: “It is not acceptable for the rate to have risen in  Devon when it has fallen in most  of the country.

 “I have asked for an explanation from Devon Primary Care  Trust and Devon County Council.

“I hope this is not an example  of the county ignoring the needs  of Exeter, which has traditionally had higher teenage pregnancy rates than rural Devon.”

The findings of a county council-led public consultation into  teenage pregnancies and young  people’s sexual health is due to  be published shortly as part of a  strategic review of the issue.

The review, by a group from  the children and young people’s  services scrutiny committee, has  been examining the levels of  teenage pregnancy, and  incidences of sexually transmitted infections in Devon.