Teenage pregnancies in Brighton and Hove have fallen by a quarter, new figures have revealed.
In 1998, 187 under-18s in the city became pregnant – in 2008, this had fallen to 150, the lowest rate since records began in 1998. Nationally, the fall is 13.3%.
Councillor Vanessa Brown, Cabinet Member for Children & Young People said: “This is a record fall in the number of teenagers becoming pregnant in the city and underlines the importance of the wide-ranging work that the council and NHS Brighton & Hove are carrying out.
“Teenage parents and their children are at increased risk of living in poverty and suffer poorer health than other residents so it is good news that the new services being provided in the city are reaching unprecedented numbers of those most in need.
“Not only do we need to break the cycle where the child of a young teen parent becomes themselves a 15 or 16-year old parent, but we need to educate young people about the role that alcohol can play, the need to use contraception properly and to get good advice about sex.
“For the first time in a decade our teen pregnancy rates are falling and although it’s not as much as the challenging target we have set ourselves, it is definitely on the right track.”
Brighton and Hove City Council is continuing to work to decrease the number of teenagers at risk of having unplanned pregnancies.
Two initiatives to give advice and identify more effective ways to change teen behaviour took place: ‘I am Safe’ last summer and ‘R U Ready for the Holidays’ over the winter.
The summer initiative, which identified at least 100 teenagers at risk of unplanned pregnancy, involved giving goodies such as backpacks, t-shirts and water bottles, as well as a card with key information, to teenagers in venues such as clubs and youth clubs.
In winter, 100 young women identified as particularly vulnerable were spoken to individually about alcohol use and sexual relationships, while young men and women from youth groups spoke about alcohol purchase.
They also promoted new and extended services, which include a new GP open access service at Brighton Station Health Centre and information on where to get condoms and sexual health advice.
The council has provided this case study of a 15-year-old teenage girl considered at risk of becoming pregnant, who has made different choices about sex and contraception as a result of talking to its services.
1. Do you drink alcohol and has your attitude to drinking changed over the last few years? I used to feel as though I had to drink with my mates to be part of the group, we used to go round some of my mates houses and party. It’s easy to get and I would get out of my head. My mum drinks lots and that is what I used to see. But now I don’t really like getting that drunk and at least one of us stays sober to make sure our group is fine.
2. How “risky” was your sexual activity before you came into contact with the advice of our services? I used to think that everybody else is doing it so it’s fine and everybody makes mistakes. I had only had sex once. It wasn’t until I had the biggest scare of my life I actually thought I was pregnant, my friend told my about the service and how nice her worker was. So we went together and found out I wasn’t pregnant and had a very good chat about contraception and I made the right choice.
3. In what why does alcohol influence whether or not young people use contraception? When you’re drunk it’s all fuzzy and you go along with it. All your good ideas go out the window and that’s when mistakes happen. That’s why you need to have your contraception sorted out and feel confident to use condoms.
4. How has the one-to-one work with the advice service improved your alcohol and sexual activity safer? It has taught me to have more respect for myself, make the right decisions when it comes to sex and only I can keep myself safe. It’s weird ‘cause I have started doing all of that and I feel so much better about myself.
5. Why is it so important that young women get advice around alcohol and sexual health? All my mates seem to think you can drink and have sex with lots of people and nothing will ever happen. It’s not until you get a scare or wake up and realise that it’s not a way of life. At the advice centres they work with you to improve your life skills and make you make better decisions and provide excellent support. I visit them on a weekly basis and feel that my life has changed so much in six months.
