~Highest Teen Pregnancy Rate In The County
 

I read in the Observer that Hyndburn has the highest rate of teen pregnancies out of all the County Of Lancashire. I find the figures very sad myself 60.9 out of every 1,000 teenagers became pregnant. What can be done to combat these terrible figures? They are taught about birth control but obviously the message is not sinking in for either girls or boys.

It just makes you wonder if they have any comprehension of what looking after a baby entails. Must say I saw a young girl with a baby whilst at the hospital with Mum and she was little more than a child herself. It just makes me so very sad.

Re: ~Highest Teen Pregnancy Rate In The County
 

Jeez, Bernie, it's a big question. Why it should be higher in Hyndburn I don't know...one thing we can't blame PB for!

It's a thing society as a whole has to tackle, and it has to start at an early age. I don't mean talking about contraception at 5, but instilling some kind of moral standards and respect for fellow human beings..that would be a start. And if the parents are't willing or able to do it, then the broader community needs to. Otherwise we are going in a downward spiral. It's like a lot of things that are wrong with society today, and they all seem to be intrinsically linked.

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There's never been so much sex education.

It's done in secondary and primary schools.

However, it would appear it's not having the desired effect. :(

In my opinion we've got all these teenage pregnancies, not because the kids don't know about contraception, but because there's no deterrent.

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I think you are both right, Caz and Lilly.
Morals and responsibility need to be taught from an early age, not just contraceptive practices....and contraceptive advice is freely available to youngsters...more so that ever before in the past.
The girls today do not seem to be ashamed of being a single mother...it is almost like they are cocking a snook(no pun intended) at society.
The sad thing is that the children of young unmarried women are likely to follow in their mothers footsteps......and yes it is very sad that girls these days do not value themselves more highly....they have so many chances of education and betterment and they are willing to throw it all away for a quick fumble.

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Margaret...Your comment on girls having so many opportunities. Yes they have so many more opportunities in this day and age than ever before, yet so many more girls seem to devalue themselves these days, and the situation seems to be getting progressively worse.

Being "deterred" from getting pregnant shouldn't be the answer Lilly, although i can see where you are coming from.

Unless we can catch the sections of society who seem to grow up with no morals or values at an early age, I don't see the situation changing. Throwing contraceptive advice at them in their teens seems like a last resort. They should be able to grow up knowing what life has to offer, and make choices. But the sad thing is, most of these situations are ongoing and self perpetuating...parents who have grown up with the same lack of aspirations, education, morals, motivation, etc.

The majority of people in society grow up with values and morals, we really need to intervene where we know that isn't going to be the case

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I agree with all of the above but I would just add that they are almost encouraged to be sexually active at far too early an age. Sexuality and eroticism is everywhere and even pre-teens are exposed to it. It's all very fine to try to educate them in contraception but we are talking about children here and the majority are too young to readily assume the responsibility. I wouldn't ever want to go back to the hypocricy of previous generations but I think it has become far too "acceptable" for young girls to become pregnant.

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I remember at sixteen when I had met the love of my life, I was invited into the parlour of my intended by her two brothers who were built like two brick S.Houses.
The warning was quite clear. 'If you touch her before you are engaged, we will chop your balls off'
I heeded that warning and kept my tackle....Maybe that is the answer?

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Maybe they need to be made to feel ashamed again.

Should they be treated like they have done something wrong?
Should they not get all the benefits they do when they have babies?
Should we reopen Brockhall to put the teenage mothers in like they used to years ago?

I would also like to see the figure broken down a little more. Maybe under 16 and over 16 figures would be interesting. After all an 18 or 19 year woman who is married and has a child is different to a 14 year old.

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In some sections of society these days Roy, lads would welcome their sisters copping off within their social group. :(

I know what you mean, but we really need to get to a point where some of these young girls appreciate what they can offer to society as a whole, and be in control of their destiny, rather than having an unwanted pregnancy warded off by big bro. :)

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I've always said similar. My husband was a bit taller than my dad (both around 6') and fitter but I know my dad would have chopped Colin up into little pieces and put him in the bin if he'd suspected any "goings on" before we were married. Even when we were engaged I wouldn't have dared run the risk of pregnancy. Today, their parents are unlikely to be married either so - what the hell.

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this week i have quite a few, what i term "Kids" pushing prams mainly in pairs just odd ones on own, what is apparent to me seeing as most of the pairs were using "Building Site" language very loud i might add, as my hearing is not the best, its a complete lack of upbringing in many cases, no respect, no deterrent, what chance on earth will these children have when they grow up? i really dismay.:( some of em were actually with their partners, n same score F-ing n Blinding at each other.

Re: ~Highest Teen Pregnancy Rate In The County
 

Devil's advocate again Neil. :D

No they shouldn't be treated like they have done something wrong, they usually know no better due to their upbringing anyway.

Yes they should get benefits, because the child shouldn't be made to suffer. But saying that, it should be obvious to various agencies that some should be monitored for the sake of the child, to ensure they are being cared for.

The Brockhall comment really doesn't deserve an answer!

We are obviously talking about unwanted pregnancies, not parents of a young age in a "stable relationship or Marriage" which may or may not last.

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True,Cashy but just £4 a month off you could make a difference.:D:D

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What are you saying? that the scumbags on the prowl today should be allowed to take up with these young girls unchecked?
You have seen it, I have seen it and so have many others.
Society has lost control and i'ts time that the do gooders realised that the country is in a mess. :eek:

Re: ~Highest Teen Pregnancy Rate In The County
 

YES YES, they do if they cannot respect the baby n the public Definatly.

:(

Re: ~Highest Teen Pregnancy Rate In The County
 

Did I say that?! NO! Stop putting words into my mouth will you! Maybe you don't have much contact with the dregs of humanity these days, unlike some of us, who know it goes on. But that is what some sections of society are like these days. Reality check Roy!

Re: ~Highest Teen Pregnancy Rate In The County
 

can we please remember that not all teenage parents are bad parents or bad people!

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I think we all know that Em. :)

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has anyone forgot that?:(

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If you are still in a position to make things happen then go for it.

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Why would I be in a position to "make things happen"???? :confused: All I'm doing is offering views like everyone else.
You often seem to make comments like that when I put posts on here. Why?

What's your solution then? Considering we are not now in the 1950s and it is a whole different ball game? How do you consider we could make things happen?

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We all know that Emma, Was a mum myself at 18. But we also all know which section of society is being referred to. :)

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You seem to respond with some authority as to what goes on, that is why I asked the question....enlighten me?

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Really? maybe it's because i try to put my views in an erudite way, sorry if that is a problem.

Which comment are you referring to in this instance? Still on about my comment on lads and their sisters??

Re: ~Highest Teen Pregnancy Rate In The County
 

erudite's a problem fer me caz, what the hell does it mean?:confused::D

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I did write a long and quite erudite post, agreeing with Neil's earlier insight, but it seems to have gone missing in the ether.
Anyhow, as I see loads of feckless "young" ie 14-17 year old mums on a daily basis at work, most of whom are unable to understand the terms of usage on a free milk voucher, I have come to this conclusion;free housing is easy to come by if you are young and have a baby.
On the same note free contraception is also easy to come by, as is the emergency morning after pill , these seem to be less important than the first option.
It is more than a little worrying when you get a 14 year old in school uniform asking to see the pharmacist for the morning after pill, even more so when she brings 8 of her mates in, giggling, to "support" her.
Laughable, pitiable and to be honest not right.:eek:

Re: ~Highest Teen Pregnancy Rate In The County
 

It's a generation of disinterested parents, and years of poor education, that is letting these young people down.

The rudimentary mechanics of reproduction, and for that matter contraception, can be taught in minutes. It's the teaching of self respect and morality that's sadly not being taught in schools.

We have become over the last thirty or so years a nation that demands whatever we desire straight away, and to hell with the consequences. The must have trainers, the latest mobile, or sex. Pubescents have always been interested in sex, and always will be. What must be made clear is that you can have a healthy interest in steam trains, for example, without the need to drive one yourself.

The pathetic recent case of a sexually active fifteen year old girl, and her thirteen year old partner, who it turned out wasn't the teen father, isn't an isolated incident. Thousands of young teens are rutting away in back alleys across the lad, with little thought to the fact that unprotected sex may lead to pregnancy, or disease. Someone else will provide the finance for their offspring, if they should happen to conceive.

I don't know if the situation can be saved. Young people are just mirroring the want it all now society we all live in.

The only hope I think is if education focuses much more on the responsibility that comes from physical relationships, and that such unions are so much more special when conducted in a long term loving relationship.

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Just asking questions without giving my opinion thats all.

Maybe not but that is what used to happen only a few years ago.

What makes you sure that all babies born to young teens are unwanted?
I think part of the problem is that some of these girls want babies so go out and get pregnant intentionally.

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yes but how many of those want em fer the babies sake?

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Yes Neil, i think most of us know that in days gone by women were locked away for getting pregnant. the fact that it happened is what didn't deserve an answer, not you personally.

Because they think that is what they want, for whatever reason, and however misguided.

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I think your absolutely right.

I've nothing against young mothers, but there seems to be a whole section of society who see their only, or at least the easiest option, as being to get pregnant as quickly as possible, and as some sort of bizarre career choice funded by the state, and at a time when in reality there has never been so many opportunities in life. That to me seeems very sad.

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Parenting is one of the hardest jobs in the world and yet it is expected that everyone can do it without training.

Modern medicine is halting evolution meaning that the stupid and useless don't die like they would have done and instead reproduce.

Also take a look at the fact the most common illness in the UK is depression, what happens to the children who are raised by these people - it's bound to have an impact

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That's rather harsh.

You could say an education for all policy has done the same thing...if you were a bit of a crypto-fascist, I suppose.

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Way back when, people of lower classes reproduced in droves, and often ended up in either the workhouse, an institution, or the gutter.

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i know through me daughter that there is at least some training now sam, with looking after babies, where it was nil when she was a baby, its not parental training thats the problem, its training in respect n things, n how to behave in public etc etc, ya can be a real dummy, but still have good manners, that impacts on the growing child just as swearing n no respect does.:)

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I said it from an objective viewpoint, harsh but when you take away the compassion for an individual it is true.

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Some training for some people but by no means to all those who need it. And the difference being that back in your day a kid would have 2 parents who would have 2 parents. That's a team of 6 people + extended family compared to one single mother with the only support being from a mother who made the same mistake, if that.

Re: ~Highest Teen Pregnancy Rate In The County
 

not so, both my parents were dead before my eldest was 3, n very ill before that, the late wife only had a mum who was agoraphobic, lovely woman but not very well. my daughter is a single mother also.

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Would agree with that to some extent, was a time when extended family came in to play. Not in my case though may I add. And you just sort of got on with it, you learned as you went along. It's all well and good knowing the basics about feeding and changing nappies etc, but there are deeper issues to bringing up children, and every child is different.

The main issue in discussion though is stopping the pregnancies in the first place, regardless of feckless parents.

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Some varied and interesting answers but all most seem to be focusing on the young mums, when did the dads drop out of the equation? Does anybody know what age the children are bombarded with sex education? Seems to me kids aren't kids for any length of time now. Ok a young child might get curious as to where their brother/sister came from, what is wrong with telling them "out of mummys tummy" which isn't a lie. Why do they need to know at such a young age all the facts of life? Seems to me that they know the facts of life whilst still believing in Father Christmas. For goodness sake let them be kids.

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Fair enough comment about the dads Bernie, but the reality is it's the girls that carry the can, or quite often the tax payer.

Learning about sex at an early age? They should just have their questions answered when they ask them, but I would say in a factual way.

The bottom line is instilling morals and manners at an early age, and teaching youngsters that they have other things to aspire to, rather than embarking on parenthood at an early age. But this won't happen unless we nip the constant drip of apathy from certain sections of our society in the bud. We need to start with kids early on, whatever that entails, whatever agencies involved, else we will get no where, and the problem will only get worse.

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Aye my point was basically there was a greater sense of family, religion and community and generally more non-state-sponsored support.

And the thing about the topic being about stopping the pregnancies and not the feckless parents, the preganancies are due to the feckless parents of those who get pregnant, it is their job to educate them and instill the sense of responsibility, you get that and the pregnancies drop.

As to the "what happened to the father" argument, it isn't an equal responsibility when it comes to parenthood. What happens to the fathers opinion when it comes to keeping the child or not ? It doesn't exist. Add to that the fact that the type of girl who is getting pregnant is unlikely to only have one "candidate" for the father.

The way I've been brought up has been that your children are the most important thing in your life and the way I look at it I can't do my best for them until I mature and get a solid job and so until then contraception is the way to go. The scary thing is that it would almost be acceptable for me and my girlfriend to have a child despite the fact we are only just turning 19 because we have been together since we were 16, however I know neither of us are nowhere near ready to become parents and we are both (without any false modesty) considerably intelligent people.

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girls need to be educated to realise that motherhood is not a career.....this would be easier if the benefits system didn't hand out houses and money to these youngsters so easily.
Another poster pointed out the early sexualisation of children too(girls, mainly)....this has got to be an influence too.......have you seen some of the magazines that are aimed at 11 and 12 year olds?
Society in general, has to find some morals again, and if it doesn't then there will be no solution to this problem.

I know that there are some teen mothers who make a good job of motherhood, and then go on to complete their education......and I applaud those youngsters, but in the main the teenage mothers are potty mouthed and feckless(this is from my own observation).....and almost see a baby as fashion accessory.....not a responsibility for the rest of their lives.

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Got to agree Bernie. There are one or two on here who were brought up in the Swinging Sixties, and I can remember girls getting pregnant in those days too, but the difference is that in those days quite a lot of the "fathers" didn't do a runner they got married, it was seen as the thing to do in those days. Even so can't remember to many school kids getting pregnant. With this in mind is sex education actually the answer, we didn't get it in school, there were no teachers showing us the art of how to put a condom on. I think we must remember that in our day there were no mags for girls, some of which are a bit strong for 18 year olds let alone 10 or 11 year olds, there was no Internet where all kinds of sexual material can be accessed. Unfortunately its a problem that's not going to go away anytime soon, I don't think that any one has the answer and that's why the problem is increasing and the more its highlighted in the media the worse it will get. There is an old saying "No News is Good News" maybe it might be an idea to keep these problems out of the headlines as highlighting them and rabbiting on about it doesn't seem to have made a blind bit of distance, if anything its exacerbated the problem:(

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To be honest I really don't think this is the case, at least in the majority of teen pregnancies, I know countless girls who have had kids over the last few years and none of them have done it purposefully, and I'm even talking about the ones who are "utterly feckless".

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Anyone who indulges in sexual activity without taking precautions is reckless, and while they may not consciously be planning to get pregnant, by taking the risk, which is deliberate, then it could be considered purposeful.

I worked in the NHS, and came into contact with girls and young women who had 'found' themselves pregnant......this had come about because they were lax in taking care of their sexual health.
This was in a time when sex education and contraceptive advice was freely available....but a lot of these young women couldn't be bothered(the boys are just as much to blame, but they do not have the babies so it appears not to be so relevant to them).
My colleagues and I spent our time giving contraceptive advice, and contraceptive supplies to these young women....to find them coming to our service for help more than once or twice.
Now to make a mistake once is forgivable, but to get into the same situation over again is not.

Some young girls know that by having a baby they will become entitled to housing and benefits......they want to get away from their parents(for whatever reason) and then they become career mothers, because they have no marketable job skills....it is easier to stay at home and produce babies......not necessarily because you like babies, but because that is what generates the money.

I am not saying that all single mothers fall into this category, because clearly they don't. Some of the teen pregnancies may be in stable relationships...but I suspect the majority are not.

I think a further breakdown of the figures would be helpful........ but may show the story to be less controversial, and controversy sells papers.

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And whose fault is it that the children of today have only one parent?
Where is the father in this equation?
Shouldn't the boys who impregnate these girls take some responsibilty too?


That is why in my previous post I advocated a return to a more moral way of life.

You were right about parenting being the hardest job in the world.......and a child really needs two parents to bring it up responsibly....anything less is letting the baby down.

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I agree with you Margaret, in all too many cases ( I could cite several that I know of) the "father" walks away from his responsibility without a backward glance, without a thought of the hardship that the new mum will have to face. It's a game of 2 halves to coin a footballing phrase and both halves should take responsibility, I can honestly say that during my years of sexual maturity I have never , ever slept with anyone without taking adequate precaution, and I never would. It's really not worth the risk. :eek:

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ok and what happens when women get pregnant on purpose as soon as they get a letter from the social to tell them they have to go back to work?

example....

woman i know who lives on the next street to me, her child is 11 (year below Reece at primary school), she has never wanted any other kids since the last one, as soon as she recieved THAT letter off the social, she went out and got pregnant.....and told me exactly why she had done it...to stay on the social

well more the fool her...as of next year you have to go back to work when your youngest child turns ONE

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All I can say is, God help that poor little child.

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i intend having another, but at least i know i will be going back to work and wont think i'll be screwing the social over....it wouldnt surprise me if she gets pregnant again when the kid turns one, i wouldnt mind but she is 38, she cant go on like that for much longer

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I would love another child too, but it certainly wouldn't be for any kind of financial gain, or council house, I am baffled that there are people out there who see having children as a "career".

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I also know of cases where the girl has been misled by the guy......who has said he would support her and his child. 18 months down the road, he can see his mates having a ball....and he can only see this girl and baby as an encumbrance......and yes, he packs his traps and disappears.......which is why SamF, many girls do not take into consideration the guys opinion when deciding what to do about an unplanned pregnancy.
They realise that they are unreliable, and will take off at the first sign of trouble....leaving her holding the baby(literally).

I know there are single mothers out there who do a great job of bringing up their children....these are the women who have been deserted and let down.
But there is just no excuse to have an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy.

All women have a responsibilty to themselves to make sure they take their own sexual health seriously.

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woops ive split up with my wife and left my kids behind......my bad, im a terrible father as what i should of done is stay there and let them listen to the constant arguments and bitterness so that they can grow thinking "thats how a relationship works"

Re: ~Highest Teen Pregnancy Rate In The County
 

Unless you're only sixteen, that really isn't what this thread's subject is about.;)