New tsar to tackle teen pregnancies; City adopts pioneering education

Scotland's first teenage pregnancy tsar is to be appointed to tackle the high rate of births among Glasgow schoolgirls, which is second only to Dundee.

The teenage pregnancy co-ordinator will be charged with reducing the rate of underage conceptions in Glasgow by half by 2010 and getting more teenage parents into education or employment to save them from a life of deprivation. Across Scotland, 9464 teenagers became pregnant in 2000, with 4000 terminations.

The co-ordinator, described as a "local champion", will pull together all the services in the area which have a role in preventing teenage pregnancy or supporting those who become parents. They will regularly consult teenagers to seek their opinions on the current services. The co-ordinator will set up training for midwives, health visitors, teachers and school nurses to give them a wider role in sex education. The champion will also be charged with ensuring that public health doctors are focused on the problem of teenage pregnancy. They will also raise awareness of the responsibilities of boys.

The new post is the latest initiative to rid Scotland of its record teenage pregnancy rates. Last month a survey published by the United Nations children's fund (UNICEF) showed that Britain has the second-highest teenage birth rate in the developed world behind the US. The problem is worse in Scotland. In England 6.6% of teenage births are to under 16s. In Scotland the figure rises to 7.7%, and to 8.7% in Glasgow.

The number of underage schoolgirls having abortions in Scotland is increasing. The figures for girls below the age of 16 undergoing abortions rose to 276 last year.

A joint report between NHS Greater Glasgow and Glasgow City Council, proposing the post, identifies poverty as a key risk factor in teenage pregnancy. The risk of becoming a teenage mother is almost 10 times higher for a girl whose family is in social class five (unskilled manual), than those in social class one (professional). Teenage girls who live in local authority or housing association accommodation are three times more likely to become a mother. Being in care, being the child of a teenage mother and having low educational achievement also put girls at risk of teenage pregnancy.

The report says a teenage pregnancy tsar is needed to tackle the problem. "We currently have a range of social inclusion and sexual- health related initiatives across Glasgow City, but we do not have a joint focus on teenage pregnancy. It is proposed that we should jointly finance and appoint a Teenage Pregnancy Co-ordinator. The aim should be to develop and implement an inter-agency teenage pregnancy strategy, which should focus on prevention and support."

English public health minister Yvette Cooper announced a (pounds) 6 million scheme in 2000 to introduce 150 teenage-pregnancy co- ordinators across England. A similar programme has not been adopted in Scotland but now NHS Greater Glasgow and Glasgow City Council are raising funds for a similar post.

Catriona Renfrew, planning and community care director for NHS Greater Glasgow, said: "We have recognised with Glasgow City Council that Glasgow's high rate of teenage pregnancy is a major problem which particularly affects vulnerable young people from deprived communities.

"We are working with the council on the best way to tackle this issue."

But Pete Glen, Acting Project Leader of the Corner Project in Dundee, a drop-in centre for young people, argues that teenage pregnancy cannot be dealt with in isolation.

"To separate teenage pregnancy into a single, segregated issue is very narrow minded. We approach the whole person, not just the pregnancy. Twenty-three per cent of the young people who come to us come for sexual health problems, and the rest is a combination of relationships, housing problems, family and mental health. This is a complex issue that can't be separated from lifestyle.

"Young people think that they should be having sex. Also, for many young people, it's a pro-active choice born from a lack of hope and opportunity.

"We have trained over 600 young people to educate their contemporaries about the dangers of a host of issues, including pregnancy, drugs and crime. We also try to educate adults. The teacher in Chewin' the Fat is the cliche of the sexually embarrassed adult, afraid to broach the subject of sex to children, that we are trying to get rid of."

'i knew all about sex at 14' Jennifer Fenton, now 17, was just 15 when she had her baby, Conner. The young mother from Cumbernauld Village feels she was let down as a schoolgirl and is still being let down as she struggles to bring up her baby.

Jennifer's partner, Chad McAuley, 22, is unemployed and living in a homeless hostel. Jennifer and Conner live with her mother and find it difficult to get by on benefits of (pounds) 75 a week. Jennifer's mother takes one day off work a week to look after Conner and to give Jennifer a break but this is the only help she receives.

"When I got pregnant we didn't get anything," said Jennifer. "My Dad has never been in my life and my Mum was the only outside support I had.

"When I was at school we did have sex education, but I knew all about having sex anyway. It was in the 3rd year and most of us didn't see any point in it. Everyone thought they knew it all so no-one paid much attention.

"All my teachers were trying to get me to have an abortion and telling me not to have the baby but my Mum didn't mind if I had it or not, she said it was up to me. I don't believe in abortion and neither does Chad.

"My Mum had told me about contraception but the teachers never did. I was on the pill but it made me sick so I had to come off it - that's when I got pregnant."

Although Jennifer admits she and Chad did not plan the pregnancy, she insists they had wanted children.

"She only gets (pounds) 75 a week for her and the baby," said Chad, "You can't raise a baby on that kind of money.

Still together despite these trials, the couple have little positive to say about the support they received during and after the pregnancy. "They all turned their backs on us," said Jennifer. "I have a few friends in a similar situation and they are finding the same problem, no support, no money, nobody wants to know."

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