The numbers of teenage girls becoming pregnant in Brighton & Hove has fallen by a record 25%, provisional data has revealed.
 
From a ‘baseline’ figure of 187 teenagers falling pregnant in the city in 1998 the latest figures show a 25% reduction to 150 conceiving 2008. This is the lowest rate since records began in 1998 and bucks the national trend which stands at a 13.3% fall.
 
The figures come as new local statistics show that more than 200  teenagers considered ‘at risk’ of unplanned pregnancy have learnt about the dangers of alcohol misuse, the role of contraception and the importance of delaying sex until they are ready.
 
Campaigns and services by Brighton & Hove City Council and the NHS Brighton and Hove, which focused on engaging with young people on issues around alcohol and healthy sexual relationships, aim to accelerate the fall.
 
Councillor Vanessa Brown, Cabinet Member for Children & Young People, said:
“This is a record fall in the number of teenagers becoming pregnant in the city and underlines the importance of the wide-ranging work that the council and NHS Brighton & Hove are carrying out.

“Teenage parents and their children are at increased risk of living in poverty and suffer poorer health than other residents so it is good news that the new services being provided in the city are reaching unprecedented numbers of those most in need.
 
“Not only do we need to break the cycle where the child of a young teen parent becomes themselves a 15 or 16-year old parent, but we need to educate young people about the role that alcohol can play, the need to use contraception properly and to get good advice about sex.

“For the first time in a decade our teen pregnancy rates are falling and although it’s not as much as the challenging target we have set ourselves, it is definitely on the right track.”

For more information about Brighton and Hove Council view:
www.brighton-hove.gov.uk