UK Teenage Pregnancy Policy

This article evaluates the government’s teenage pregnancy policy since 1999. There is an evaluation of the recent guidance papers published by the DfEF, in 2006 Teenage Pregnancy Next Steps Guidance for Local Authorities and Primary Care Trusts on Effective Delivery of Local Strategies and Teenage Pregnancy. Accelerating the Strategy to 2010 as well as a look at the 1999 SEU report on teenage pregnancy. The SEU report will be closely examined as this outlines the governments main theme in teenage pregnancy policy that underlines all current guidance papers. The policy’s quintessential theme was a shift away from moral traditionalism towards individualized approaches based on ‘promoting responsibility, agency and prudent choice making’ (Carabine, J 2007 pp. 952).

Why It Matters

Under ‘Why It Matters’ of the SEU report, there are eight points that summarize the reasons for considering teenage pregnancy as a problem, which offer stark statistics. Within these eight points is recognition that although the problem is existent throughout the UK, even in the most affluent areas, it is most predominant in the poorest areas and among the most vulnerable teenagers. In other words it is most present for those already socially excluded. The section begins by identifying the health risks. It cites that those that do not use contraception have a 90% chance of conceiving in one year, and an increased risk of contracting STI’s. One act of unprotected sex with an infected partner, means the female is 1% more likely of acquiring HIV, 3% more likely of acquiring genital herpes and 50% more likely of contracting Gonorrhea.

Risk Factors

The report seeks further justification under the ‘risk factors’ section. It states that teenage parents are more likely than their peers to ‘live in poverty and unemployment and be trapped in it through lack of education, child care, and encouragement’ (SEU, 1999 pp. 6). It also considers the increased death rates of babies to teenage mothers, who have a 60% higher mortality rate to babies of older mothers. The babies are also more likely to have low birth weights, childhood accidents and be admitted to hospital. As well as this, their daughters have a higher chance of becoming teenage mothers themselves, producing a cycle. In light of this, it is evident that teenage pregnancy is seen as problematic due to the risk factors it bares with regards to social exclusion and the health of the mother and child. Moral traditionalist on the other hand would claim that teenage pregnancy is immoral, breaking from traditional family values and thus damaging to society for this reason alone. This line of thinking was present under previous Conservative social policies (Alcock et al, 2003)The SEU report establishes three summarized reasons for the high rates, which subsequently help shape the policy. These are as followed: low expectations, ignorance and mixed messages.

Low Expectations

The report claims that throughout developed countries it is the most deprived and disadvantaged teenagers that have the lowest expectations. Because of the low expectations of future prospects, there is a feeling of hopelessness. The report simply states that having low expectations means that the individual will not strive for better as they foresee themselves on benefits inevitably. In simple terms, ‘they see no reason "not" to get pregnant’ (SEU report 1999, pp. 7).

Ignorance

The report claims that young people lack appropriate knowledge about contraception. Carabine (2007) implies that the reason for the lack of knowledge is because prior to New Labour policies, there was an emphasis on teaching traditional moral values, rather than the biology or simple facts about sex. This lack of knowledge is identified as a risk factor because teenagers are unaware of contraception, STI’s, relationships and the responsibilities of being a parent while they are sexually active.

Mixed Messages

The report suggests that teenagers are subject to a bombardment of contradictory messages, that when combined, contribute to the problem. The first message comes from the ‘adult world’. This mostly involves media and popular culture, which sends out explicitly sexual messages. As a result sex is seen as the norm and amounts to a consensus of peer pressure (Chambers et al, 2001). On the other side, are the parents and public institutions that are embarrassed and quiet, ignoring the problem, in the hope that less talk and acknowledgment will prevent it. The net result is not less sex, but less protected sex. The latter part is a result of moral traditionalist policies, that are keen to shy away from in depth biological education and more concerned with abstinence and the teaching of sex outside of marriage as morally misguided (Carabine, 2007). As the policy is aware of, the specific issue of teenage pregnancy needs a specific remedy that eliminate the aforementioned causes.

The Goal

The report has two goals: reducing the rate of teenage pregnancy by 50% of under 18s by 2010 from the 1998 figures and getting more teenage parents into education, training or employment to reduce their risk of long term social exclusion. The report outlines a four-point action plan, which is the foundation of the teenage pregnancy policy. These are as followed: A national campaign, joined-up support, better prevention and better support.

Consensus

A national campaign consists of a consensus of government, media, the voluntary sector and others to improve understanding and to help change the behavior present in the culture. As Chamber et al (2001) recognizes, the assistance and influence of media can successfully help a teenage pregnancy campaign. The policy is aware that the government alone cannot solve the problem, thus the policy aims for a national effort to ‘change the culture surrounding teenage pregnancy’ (SEU report, 1999 pp. 8), by sending a clearer message. To achieve these goals the policy relies on sending clear-targeted knowledge towards parents and teenagers, offering advice on how to deal with peer pressure, and education on the importance of using contraception. To reinforce the new message the policy relies on a local effort, involving local campaigns in areas of high teenage pregnancy rates, that collaborate with print and broadcast media (newspapers, radio, television), faith (churches etc) and other organisations. Naturally a clear universal message from institutions and organizations will combat any effects of mixed messages and provide teenagers with a clear idea of where society stands on the issue, and the professional help available to them (Chambers et al, 2001).Joined-up action is stated as essential for ensuring the aforementioned point, by providing mechanisms to co-ordinate action at both a national and local level, ensuring that the strategy is on track. At a national level this includes, a new "task force" comprising ministers, an implementation unit led by the Department of Health to ensure that Whitehall is on track (the Teenage Pregnancy Unit) and an independent national advisory group providing advice to local governments and monitoring the success of the strategy. At a local level this entails an identified local coordinator to collect the resources and local services that have a role in preventing teenage pregnancy and/or provide support to teenage parents. As the 2006 report from DfES identifies, having a local coordinator has been successful.

Better prevention

Better prevention consists of preparing young people and parents to deal with sex and relationships and dealing with the pressures of having sex too soon. The report outlines the role of parents and the importance they play in communicating with their children. It also emphasizes the responsibility of teenage males that, as the report claims, have been often overlooked in past policies. Better prevention is highly dependent on the role of school education and information, providing teenagers with guidance for sex and relationships. This has in effect been the central hub to the policy as a whole. To ensure this, the policy focuses on developing new school inspections and better training for teachers to deal with the issues. It also focuses on information campaigns and local implementation funds for integrated and innovative programs. The health sector is predominately targeted, for being responsible for credible advice and offering clear guidance to health professionals on the prescriptions, supply and administration of contraceptives to under 16’s (for example a chemists own prejudice should not interfere with the access to contraception (Chambers et al, 2001)). This also entails health professional’s duty to counsel teenagers when they seek advice on contraception. Other necessities include a national helpline for advice, a national publicity campaign to inform teenagers about availability of health professionals, increased education particularly towards young men, pushing social services to give priority to preventing teenage pregnancy for children in their care, young offenders institutions to offer parenting and sexual health classes, and giving education on relationships and sex to children out of school. Education and accessibility to contraception is crucial in generating confident young men and women. The problem identified with the moral traditionalist approach, is that it deters teenagers in need of advice or help.

Support

Better support involves protecting the teenagers who become parents (ensuring they are not socially excluded) including the changing of housing policies that have treated teenage parents as if they were already adults. To ensure this, the policy aims to generate better coordination on the advice and support given to teenage parents, ensuring 16 year old mothers finish their full time education, and are provided with child care help for when this happens. 16 and 17 year olds are also eligible for the Education Maintenance Allowance when in further education, help for claiming benefits to find a job, and a support package to offer advice on relative issues. 16 and 17 year old parents, who cannot live with their parents, are supervised in a semi-independent housing with support, not a tenancy on their own. Finally, the Child Support Agency targets children of under 18 year old mothers for early child support actions. Prior to 1999 policy, teenage parents were treated as adults and their needs were neglected. As a result greater social exclusion existed and this affected the child (Carabine, 2007). In total the four point policy action add up to a 20 year program, comprising of £60 million of funding, and a new unit set up in the department of health (Teenage Pregnancy Unit). Sine the 1999 SEU report there has been further developments with the government’s policy on teenage pregnancy. In July 2006, DfES published Teenage Pregnancy Next Steps Guidance for Local Authorities and Primary Care Trusts on Effective Delivery of Local Strategies. Based on the results from the “deep dive” reviews performed by the TPU and members of the Independent Advisory Group on Teenage Pregnancy, the DfES guidance reviewed what has been working and what has not been working thus far in the ten-year strategy. The guidance is mostly concerned with local authorities and the improvements that could be made to avoid the “deep five” findings. In September 2006 the DfES published Teenage Pregnancy: Accelerating the Strategy to 2010. The guidance aimed at addressing the issues that could potentially prevent the 2010 target set by the SEU in 1999. It considered the necessity for providing a more durable focus on local areas, particularly where there had been a lack of progress. It also outlined the need for a broader strategy, emphasizing the need to address the root causes such as poverty, exclusion and poor education. The guidance explicitly expresses the need for targeting those within the risk criteria of teenage pregnancy. It highlighted a greater need to involve both a geographical approach on high rate neighborhoods and the identification of the most vulnerable groups at sever risk of teenage pregnancy. Within the list of risk factors that the new guidance highlights for local areas to identify and target are: Risky Behavior, such as poor contraceptive use, mental health substance abuse, teenage motherhood and repeat abortions; Education-related factors such as low education, and leaving school at 16 without qualifications; Family and background factors such as children in care, daughters of teenage mothers and ethnicity. The themes outlined in the recent report are not too foreign to that set out in the 1999 SEU report, and they are a reconfirmation of the risk factors that need to be considered and addressed. Since New Labour came to power in 1997, the policy approach on teenage pregnancy has had a major shift. Prior to the first New Labour report by the SEU in 1999, policy was very bleak and focused far more on abstinence, tradition and morals. The SEU report highlighted, with facts and statistics, that the moral traditionalist approach had not been working and that a more pragmatic approach was needed. The shift has been most evident in the policy’s focus on the health and social exclusion risk factors (instead of judging teenagers from a moral position) and accepting that some teenagers will become parents. In light of this acceptance, the policy provides help to teenage parents to ensure a cycle of social exclusion does not appear, and offers in-depth education and clear messages. Later guidance papers have been published however they have further re-emphasized the new-approach to teenage pregnancy. This shows, that although teenage pregnancy is not declining at the rate anticipated, the new approach is still considered far more viable than the moral traditionalist approach.

Bibliography:

Alcock, P et al. (2003) The Student’s companion to Social Policy, 2nd ed., Blackwell Publishing

Carabine, J. (2007) New Labour's teenage pregnancy policy: constituting knowing responsible citizens? Cultural Studies, 21 (6). pp. 952-973. ISSN 1466-4348

Chambers, R et al. (2001) Tackling teenage pregnancy: sex culture and needs.Radcliffe Medical Press Ltd

DfES. (2006) Teenage Pregnancy: Accelerating the Strategy to 2010. DfES

DfES. (2006) Teenage Pregnancy Next Steps Guidance for Local Authorities and Primary Care Trusts on Effective Delivery of Local Strategies. DfES

Luker, K. (1997) Dubious Conceptions: The Politics Of Teenage Pregnancy. Harvard University Press

SEU. (1999) Teenage Pregnancy. TPU