Concern over teenage pregnancies

A HIGH rate of teenage pregnancies is causing concern in Uckfield with health and youth services working together to tackle the problem.

Community hospital manager Mrs Eva Merry told a meeting in Uckfield on Sunday that proportionately more teenagers were getting pregnant in Uckfield than Crowborough and other similar areas. It had been identified as a problem area by the primary care trust.

The meeting, at the United Reformed Church in New Town was held to discuss Our Health - Who Cares? and other speakers included local MP Mr Charles Hendry, Buxted GP Dr Clarissa Fabre, Community Health Council representative Mrs Margaret Ticehurst, county councillor Mr Chris Dowling and Methodist minister the Rev Martin Batstone.

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Mr Hendry questioned the type of girls who were getting pregnant as teenagers. He asked whether it was because they were not academic and high achievers. 'If girls are doing well at school and can see careers developing in front of them they may not be under the same pressure. I do think we are failing a lot of teenagers by not providing more vocational and technical training.'

But Dr Fabre said the girls getting pregnant in this area were 'lovely girls and lovely mothers'. Some ended up going back to school. 'The poor person in a tenement block argument doesn't apply around here,' she said.

Mrs Ticehurst advocated sex education for children from the age of eight but Dr Fabre thought that was too early. She was concerned about the way children were educated and said that very often it was the wrong person giving the advice. 'They don't talk about relationships and there is a lot of pressure on young girls to engage in sex very early. I am very sad about that,' she said.

Mr Batstone agreed there should be more talk about the quality of relationships alongside health advice. He said young people had a right to be informed about their choices.

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A spokeswoman for the Sussex Downs and Weald Primary Care Trust provided the following statistics which were the most recent available.

Nationally in 2001 42.3 women in every 1,000, in the 15 to 17 age group, conceived. In 1998 46.5 in 1,000 conceived.

In Wealden the comparable figure was 20.6 in the period between 1999 and 2001. In Lewes local authority area the figure was 33.1.

In Uckfield the rate per thousand teenagers in 1999 was 26 (39 in 1998). In Crowborough East ward it was 23, in Crowborough North 25, in St John's 0 and in Crowborough West 0. In Heathfield the figure was 0.

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In Uckfield the actual number of conceptions for this age group was nine in 1998 and six in 1999.

In Crowborough East there were four in 1998 and three in 1999, in Crowborough North 25 in 1998 and three in 1999 and in Crowborough St John's, Crowborough West and Heathfield 0. The highest number of conceptions was in the Havens at 35.

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