Teen mums on the increase

The number of Lincolnshire teenage girls getting pregnant has increased by 11 per cent.

Latest figures released by the Office of National Statistics this week show that 533 girls under the age of 18 fell pregnant in 2007.

This compares to 480 during 2006.

This is the highest number of under-18 conceptions in Lincolnshire since 1998.

Of those who fell pregnant in 2007, 43 per cent went on to have abortions – the lowest number since 2004.

While the overall pregnancy rate among under-18s in England and Wales rose for the first time since 2002, Lincolnshire's rate began to rise a year earlier.

In March 2008 the Echo revealed that in 2006 there were 35.9 conceptions per 1,000 girls under 18, up from 34.8 per 1,000 in 2005.

Tony Hayer, pharmacist for Lincolnshire Co-operative was one of three health professionals who told the Echo just last week that the county's Tackling Teenage Pregnancy strategy is not working.

"Health professionals working locally have seen this coming and no matter how much money has been thrown at preventing teenage pregnancies and STIs it ultimately falls back to the teenagers," he said.

"We have to look at what's attracting them to that situation whether it's peer pressure or alcohol.

"Underage drinking plays a major role so we need to tackle that and the onus is on parents to take charge to a certain degree.

"The big issue is about respecting themselves and dignity within a relationship rather than just the mechanics of sex and contraception."

For more on teenage mums, see Saturday's Echo.