South Glos sees drop in teenage pregnancy rates

Latest provisional figures from the Office of National Statistics show that the number of 15-17 year old conceptions in South Gloucestershire has fallen from 141 conceptions in 2008 to 130 conceptions in 2009. This figure is against the background of a long-term fall in the rate of teenage pregnancies in the district, down 18.9 per cent over the past 11 years, better than the national rate of 18.1 per cent.

The good progress reducing teenage pregnancies in South Gloucestershire reflects the strong partnership effort across a wide range of local agencies to provide better education and information to young people about relationships and sexual health, and to provide better access to local sexual health services.

The multi-agency South Gloucestershire Teenage Pregnancy Partnership implements actions and initiatives to reduce conceptions and support young parents. The partnership aims to ensure that successful interventions to reduce teenage pregnancy are included within the development of more integrated services for young people over the coming year.