Teenage Pregnancies reduction of 28% since 1998, lowest figure for 20 years

Please find below the press release on the welcome reduction of teenage pregnancies in Reading.

Reading has now seen a third consecutive year of reduction in under-18 conception rates. For 2006 the rate was 54.3 per 1,000 females aged 15-17 (the standard measure). For 2007 it was 51.6 and the provisional figure for 2008 is 46.0. There has been a reduction of 27% since 1998.

NHS Berkshire West is highly committed to reducing teenage conceptions in Reading and we are working closely with Reading Borough Council. We are also working hard together to establish a firm and sustainable downward trend in conception rates for under-16s, to increase the proportion of teenage parents in education, training or employment to 60% and to reduce the risk of long-term social exclusion for them and their children.

Children born to teenage mothers have 60% higher rates of infant mortality and are at increased risk of low birth-weight which affects the child’s long-term health. Teenage mothers are three times more likely to suffer post-natal depression and experience poor mental health for up to three years after the birth. Teenage parents and their children are also at increased risk of living in poverty.

NHS Berkshire West and Reading Borough Council have taken the following actions to tackle teenage pregnancy as a high priority:

• Consulting with young people to inform the rebrand of sexual health services for young people and future media campaigns

• The Teenage Pregnancy strategic [board???] is now jointly chaired by the Chief Executive of NHS Berkshire, Charles Waddicor, and Reading’s Director of Education and Children’s Services, Anna Wright.

• We have worked on a new performance monitoring system to facilitate analysis of local data

• We have appointed a PSHE Education Advisor to work with our schools to improve Sex and Relationship Education. Young people have told us they want more input on managing emotions and relationships and good information about contraception, and we are including the ‘Delay’ message to encourage young people to think carefully about sex and relationships.

• A pharmacy scheme funded by NHS Berkshire West continues to run. This ensures that young people in Reading can access Emergency Hormonal Contraception (EHC) for free at 16 pharmacies across Reading.


• A Sexual Health Outreach Nurse has been appointed, whose primary responsibilities are to provide sexual and reproductive health services to the most vulnerable and at risk young people in Berkshire West.

• We are recommissioning Body Zone Clinics - young people’s health clinics?]. These services provide information, advice and referral on all health issues, specifically sexual health and contraception advice

• The Peer education service delivered by Barnardo’s has trained 15 young people who deliver sex and relationship education to their peers

• The C Card scheme was launched in March 2009 and provides young people under 19 better access to sexual health information and free condoms, leading in turn to a greater awareness about safer sex, unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.

NHS Berkshire West has strengthened capacity to target teenage pregnancies by investing additional resources:
• A Social Marketing Manager post
• A Young People’s Commissioning Project Manager

John Ennis, Reading Borough Council’s Lead Councillor for Children’s Services, said: “I’m delighted to see that all the hard work that the Council and the PCT have put into reducing the rate of teenage pregnancies in Reading - and especially the efforts and resources we have put into educating our young people about this vitally important aspect of their lives - has now begun to pay off in a sustained and robust improvement. It has taken great commitment by everyone who works with young people to achieve this improvement and we are determined to do all we can to continue to reduce the level of teenage pregnancies further."