Teen pregnancies - figures revealed

Help at hand: Government to fund contraception and sex advice to help prevent underage pregnancies

Underage pregnancies in Rochdale are above the national average – despite a drop in figures.

Government statistics released today reveal that 49 teens out of every 1000 became pregnant in 2006 - 2007.

Manchester, at 71, has been noted as among the worst in the country.

In Greater Manchester there were a total of 2,639 underage pregnancies in 2006-2007, up from a previous 2,584.

Rochdale saw a 1% decrease, which was an accomplishment compared with a national increase of 2.6%. But even with the drop, Rochdale remains higher than the national average.

Nationally, 42 out of every 1,000 teenage girls got pregnant across the country, up from 41. The figures revealed that more than half opted for abortion.

Kate Kennedy, Strategy Manager for Teenage Pregnancy and Sexual Health, Rochdale Borough Council said: “The data released today contributes to an over all decrease in conceptions amongst 15-17 year olds in the borough of 21.3% since 1998.

“The decrease in the 2007 rate contradicts the trend in England, and the borough performs significantly better than the North West as a whole, which has seen an increase in conception rates.

“This reduction is really encouraging but we are aware of the need to avoid complacency and are working to constantly improve services for young people.”

The Government is injecting £20.5M into the sex education system to give young people better access to contraception and sex advice.

Health Minister Dawn Primarolo said: “Young people need good advice and easy access to contraception when they become sexually active. To help, we are improving access to contraception by providing an extra £20.5 million funding this year.

“We are supporting the NHS to offer women of all ages the full range of contraceptive choices, including long acting, reversible, methods such as implants and injections which are virtually 100 per cent effective.

And we’re giving local health services more money to come up with innovative ways of making sure young women use their contraceptives properly, such as text message reminders. ”