The Cause and Effect of Teenage Pregnancy

Amanda Senior

Faculty of Engineering and Computing, University of Technology, Jamaica

Academic Writing 1: COM1020

Mrs. Venor Dover-Campbell

November 11, 2020

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There are many factors that affect the increasing birth rate population due to teenage

pregnancy. In the article ‘Teenage Pregnancy and Young Adults’ by Local Government

Association, (May 2018) and ‘Teenage Pregnancy and Sex Education by Christopher Harper

(July 2017) focuses on causes and effects that teenage pregnancy contributes. The articles

both agree on similar tone and details provided however the writers individually aimed for

different purposes.

Through the effective use of similar tone, the writers’ aim to educate the audience whereas

they express their optimism. They concur that teenage pregnancy is mainly caused by lack of

parenting, education and comprehensive programme possessing a persuasive message to

readers to understand the issue to build informative ideas. As highlighted in both articles the

writers emphasise the importance of parental guidance and their hopefulness towards the

reduction in birth rate.

In addition to the first similarity of tone, there was also a similarity in detail. In both articles it

was agreed that the writers highlighted a small number of causes due to teenage pregnancy.

Furthermore, the detailed and or influential words and structured paragraphs shows that the

writers articulate in a vivid manner that if these issues continue it will result in a scarcity. The

articles exemplify that teenage pregnancy is not just causes by lacking information but also

because of sexual abuse and forced actions or intentions that is because of problems taking

place.

Nonetheless, there is a slight difference in purpose of each presented article. Local

Government Association (2018) persuade as well as argued the main issue which is how the

increasing teen pregnancy affect birth rate. Statistical background data was used to allude

how the rates varied over the years highlighting both improvements and inequalities.

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Christopher Harper (July 2017) utilized short paragraph to produce a direct communication

and understanding towards the reader. This was done by exploring a few causes to giving an

informative explanation on reasons why this is an issue growing rapidly due to the inadequate

or lacking knowledge on all the need to know information.

As suggested by the articles, Teenage Pregnancy has numerous causes and has had several

negative effects in many countries. The writers display this issue as being a growing

foundation which will be difficult to improve due to the insufficient educating knowledge.

However, there is some slight difference on the writers’ perspective towards each article main

purpose. Both writers also shared similar supporting details.

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 References

‘Teenage Pregnancy and Young Adults’ by Local Government Association, (May 2018)

https://www.local.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/15.7%20Teenage

%20pregnancy_09.pdf

‘Teenage Pregnancy and Sex Education by Christopher Harper (July 2017)

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/letters/20170727/teen-pregnancy-and-sex-education

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 Sources

THE EDITOR, Sir:

The Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network (JYAN) writes in response to a recent article titled
'Crisis: Kingston high school battles high teen pregnancy rates'. We use this opportunity to
echo the sentiments of Clan Carthy principal, Hazel Cameron, that part of the issue exists in
the fact that "many students lack proper sex education and, therefore, whilst engaging in
sexual relationships, they do not adequately protect themselves".

As a society, we must realise that part of protecting some of the most vulnerable members of
society depends heavily on equipping them with the skills necessary to manage their lives
adequately and responsibly. Much of the existing narrative has tried to turn a blind eye to the
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fact that our nation's children are having sex. For those who have difficulty in accepting the
fact that children have sex, it is time that you relinquish your traditionalist notions and
recognise what is at stake. We know that every time these issues arise, there is a cry to
increase the age of consent. However, increasing it to 18 is not justification for these
misinformed opinions and it is not the answer to the problems that we have identified. The
answer lies within education.

Much of the promulgated language surrounding sex education often ignores the importance
of sexual and reproductive health and rights in relation to adolescents and young people.
Adolescents are particularly susceptible, and as such are entitled to the recognition of their
rights. Any programme, policy or curriculum that is put into place must yield to these
fundamental considerations and provide a space in which adolescents can competently
develop their capacity to have full and informed control over their sexual development and
responsibility.

As a society, we should aspire to eliminate the stigma and discrimination that precludes our
youth from accessing sexual and reproductive health services, commodities, and information.
The designations are clear. Either we continue to ignore the issues and allow our children to
stumble upon whatever forms of information, misinformation or outright exploitation that
they will discover through the media, the Internet and their peers or we, instead, face up to
the challenge and implement appropriate sex education which will adequately respond to
their needs.

Christopher Harper

Policy & Advocacy Officer

Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network

Introduction
In many ways, the focus on teenage pregnancy seen in England during the last 15 years or so
has been one of the success stories in the public health field. The conception rate for young
women aged 15 to 17 has fallen by 60 per cent since 1998 with a similar reduction in
conceptions to under-16s. Both are at lowest level since record-keeping began in the late
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1960s. But that does not mean the problem has been solved. Far from it. The teenage birth
rate remains higher than several other western European countries and the progress made has
been uneven across England. Around 29 per cent of local authorities have a rate significantly
higher than the England average and even in those areas that have low rates, inequalities exist
between wards. These variations matter. Teenage pregnancy is both a cause and consequence
of health and education inequalities. All young parents want to do the best for their children,
and some manage very well. However, for many the outcomes are poor. Children in poverty
– 63 per cent higher risk for children born to women under-20 Rates of adolescents not in
education, employment or training (NEET) – 21 per cent of the estimated number of 16-18
female NEETs are teenage mothers Adult poverty – By age 30, women who were teenage
mothers are 22 per cent more likely to be living in poverty than mothers giving birth aged 24
or over. Compared with older fathers, young fathers are twice as likely to be unemployed,
even after taking account of deprivation. Infant mortality rate – 75 per cent higher rate for
babies born to women under 20 Sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI) – babies born to
women under 20 are three times more likely to suffer SUDI Incidence of low birth weight of
term babies – 30 per cent higher rate for babies born to women under 20 Maternal smoking
prevalence (including during pregnancy) – Mothers under 20 are twice as likely to smoke
before and during pregnancy and three times more likely to smoke throughout pregnancy
Breastfeeding initiation and prevalence at 6-8 weeks – Mothers under 20 are a third less
likely to initiate breastfeeding and half as likely to be breastfeeding at 6-8 weeks Emotional
health and wellbeing – Mothers under 20 experience higher rates of poor mental health for up
to three years after the birth
Teenage mothers are at higher risk of missing out on further education - an estimated 1 in 5
young women aged 16 to 18 who are not in education, employment or training are teenage
mothers. Young fathers are also more likely to have poor education and have a greater risk of
being unemployed in adult life. Their children can be affected too. They have a 30 per cent
higher rate of a low birth weight, 75 per cent higher rate of infant mortality, 63 per cent
higher risk of experiencing child poverty and at age five are more likely to have
developmental delay on verbal ability. This is the reason why the drive to reduce teenage
pregnancy has been coupled with increasing the support available to young mothers and
fathers. Taken together the twin track approach helps ensure all young people fulfil their
potential and every child enjoys the best start in life. The two frameworks4 , published with
Public Health England, are designed to help councils review their actions to see what’s
working well, identify any gaps and maximise the assets of all services to strengthen both the
prevention and support pathways. The case studies in this briefing highlight the continuing
good work of councils in both helping young people prevent unintended pregnancy and
supporting young parents.

The story so far

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to contraceptive services, involved youth and community practitioners, and improved the
support available to young parents. It took time for the Strategy to have an impact on such a
complex issue. But after 2007 progress accelerated as the cumulative actions taken by
councils and their health partners became embedded in local services. By 2010 there was a 27
per cent drop with the steep downward trend continuing in the following five years. The
conception rate has now dropped by 60 per cent from the 1998 level with abortion and
maternity rates now both declining. However, that overall figure masks what is happening on
a local level. Reductions at a council level vary from just under 40 per cent to over 80 per
cent, including stark differences between areas with similar demographics; around 29 per
cent of councils have a rate significantly higher than the England average with an almost 8-
fold variation in rates between areas; and the majority of councils have at least one ward with
very high rates. Since 2010 the Government has continued to make reducing teenage
pregnancy a priority. In 2013 public health transferred from NHSE to local authorities
including the 5-19 years services. From October 2015 the commissioning of the 0-5 years
services transferred to local authorities, offering the opportunity to focus on integrating work
on prevention and support for young parents. Continuing to reduce the rate of under-18
conceptions is one of the key objectives of the Department of Health Sexual Health
Improvement Framework and is also one of the 66 indicators in the 2013 Public Health
Outcomes Framework (PHOF). The two teenage pregnancy frameworks published by PHE
and LGA signal the ongoing commitment to making further progress.

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Ten key factors in addressing teenage pregnancy
the importance of a whole system approach of Strategic leadership & accountability:

Relationships and sex education in schools and colleges

Strong use of data for commissioning and monitoring of progress

Youth friendly contraceptive & SH services + condom schemes

Targeted prevention for young people at risk

Support for pregnant teenagers and young parents – including prevention of
subsequent pregnancies

Support for parents to discuss relationships and sexual health

Training on relationships and sexual health for health and non-health professionals

Advice and access to contraception in non-health education and youth settings

Consistent messages & service publicity to young people, parents & practitioners

The commitment of local government has led to the success so far. Continued system
leadership will be key to further progress both in reducing early pregnancy and improving the
lives of young parents and their children. Councils5 are responsible for public health which
includes responsibility for commissioning of the 0-5 and 5-19 Healthy Child Programme.
Health visitors lead the delivery of the 0-5 Healthy Child Programme. Through the delivery
of this universal programme, they are well placed to identify where additional support is
needed including for teenage parents. They often work closely with professionals in other
services such as early years, children’s, social care, and youth services to ensure a multi-
disciplinary approach. They can also co-ordinate additional support through referral to
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existing programmes commissioned by the local authority, such as the Family Nurse
Partnership which provides evidence based intensive support to young mothers and their
children. Delivery of the 5-19 Healthy Child Programme is led by school nurses. Through
taking a whole systems approach to commissioning, councils can join up the delivery of this
programme with other services including contraception and sexual health services. Councils
commission the full range of contraception, including more effective long acting reversible
contraception (LARC) methods through open access community contraception services and
LARC provision in general practice. They also commission sexual health promotion STI
prevention, including the chlamydia screening programme, testing and treatment (although
for HIV they cover only testing and prevention). 5 Public health responsibilities lie with
upper tier and unitary authorities, while some health protection functions lie with lower
authorities (in two-tier areas) Sexual health promotion activities provide an opportunity to
ensure targeted early intervention and prevention for young people that evidence suggests are
at higher risk of teenage pregnancy such as looked after children and care leavers. At a
strategic and leadership level, local authorities’ public health role is exercised through health
and wellbeing boards (H&WBBs). The H&WBB needs to consider at a population level how
all local partners are working together to reduce teenage pregnancy rates and support teenage
parents. This information should be set out in the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA)
and the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy (JHWS). Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs)
are responsible for abortion and maternity services and NHS England for contraception (user
dependent methods such as the contraceptive pill only) and STI testing provided by GPs and
all HIV, treatment, and care services. However collaborative commissioning is key to
preventing gaps in young people’s care. For example, ensuring contraception is provided as
part of the abortion and maternity care pathways to prevent second unplanned pregnancies.
So, what should you do? Well, the most important lesson from the Strategy was that the
solution to teenage pregnancy is not in the gift of any one service. A whole system approach
is needed on both prevention and support, with clear actions for all agencies, supported by
strong leadership and accountability. The 10 key factors on the following page set out what
should be in place for effective local action.
Ten key factors for effective local action
1. Senior level leadership (through the health and wellbeing board) and accountability across
local authorities and health services is essential.
2. Work with schools to ensure high quality relationships and sex education in schools and
colleges in preparation for statutory RSE in 2019. Ensure that RSE and PHSE is integrated
with commissioning of school nursing, sexual health services, safeguarding and emotional
wellbeing programmes, with clear links to one to one advice.
3. Ensure contraceptive and sexual health services are youth-friendly, easily accessible, and
well publicised in schools, colleges and other settings used by young people.
4. Target additional prevention at those most at risk, including looked after children and care
leavers, and link in with relevant early intervention programmes, such as Troubled Families.
5. Use parenting programmes to ensure sexual health advice and communication support for
parents to enable them to discuss relationships and sexual health with their children.

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 6. Train both the health and non-health workforce in sexual health and teenage pregnancy,
working in partnership with CCGs to target front line professionals who are in touch with
vulnerable young people, such as foster carers, youth services, youth offending teams and
supported housing workers.
7. Provide advice and access to contraception and sexual health services in non-health
settings used by young people.
8. Ensure consistent messages on healthy relationships and delaying pregnancy are promoted
to young people, parents, and professionals.
9. Use robust local data for commissioning and monitoring progress and local intelligence
from surveys and consultation with young people.
10. Provide dedicated support for teenage mothers and young fathers, using the LGA-PHE
Framework to ensure all agencies contribute to a joined-up care pathway.
The Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Framework provides a self-assessment checklist for
councils to review the current situation against the ten key factors and identify gaps and
actions, well, any gaps.
The teenage pregnancy narrative reports, published by PHE, bring together key data and
information for councils to help inform commissioning decisions to reduce unplanned
teenage conceptions and improve outcomes for young parents.

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