Teenage Pregnancy

[JOEYSHABADO]

Why does the UK always have the highest rate in Europe?

[Hamish]

diificult to answer without making generalisation. Perhaps it is because we have a euro-american life style. A pull to the more liberal europe philosophies as well as a trend to accept a materialist philosophy of self gratification (its my right attitude) I think has a large part to play.

[magicdice]

the area i live in has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the UK

my school has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the area

...

[Lillabet]

I don't think that there is a straightforward answer to this question - if there was then people would know what to do about the issue.

What does seem true though is that better education is a big part of the solution. In parts of the States they have tried teaching abstinence only programmes with no real information about safer sex and have higher teen pregnancy rates, and STI rates, than the UK.

In contrast some of the most detailed information is available to teenagers in The Netherlands and Scandinavian countries. They have the lowest rates in Europe both of pregnancy and sexual diseases.

We fall into the middle - we are told about contraception and STIs but often in a fairly unhelpful way. For example condoms are very effective if used correctly and vastly reduced in effectiveness if used incorrectly. At my school we were given a brief talk on condoms and then the teacher took one from a pack and put it on a carrot. From 10 or so rows back in the class it was not really possible to see what to do. But that was our condom lesson!

As for why we have so many very young mothers there does seem to be a strong correlation between poverty and poor educational standards and becoming a mother much younger. Before anyone shouts at me I have also been at university with some extremely bright and focussed young women who were also raising children as well as studying.

However. at 16 17 I was fortunate enough to have the academic potential to go as far as I wanted and the support, both emotional and if required financial, of my parents. 

To get pregnant before I had completed my studies, travelled and established myself in a career would have been awful to me. If I had been leaving school at 16 with few qualifications and only the prospect of a job as opposed to a career then motherhood might have looked a great deal more attractive as an option.

[hopalong]

Poor up bringing and education

[David H]

Possibly a connection with the highest rate of chavs?