Brook Uncovers Public Ignorance Over Teenage Pregnancy, UK

Main Category: Sexual Health / STDs
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology;  Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Abortion
Article Date: 01 Oct 2008 - 2:00 PST

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Leading sexual health charity Brook has announced shocking figures revealing the extent of the general public's misunderstanding of the UK's teenage pregnancy rate. 95% of people over-estimate the rate of under-16s who get pregnant each year and the same amount are unaware of the significant drop in this figure over the last decade.

Brook commissioned Ipsos MORI to undertake a poll of 1,986 people to find out the public's perception of pregnancy rate amongst under-16s in England.

The poll found that 95% of people over-estimated the rate of under-16s getting pregnant each year. Just 5% were able to provide a close estimate of the teenage pregnancy rate, which is, in fact, less than 1%.

Young people themselves thought that the rate was particularly high - with 23% of 15-24 years olds thinking that the rate of under 16s getting pregnant each year is over 40%, compared with 16% of people aged 25 or over.

Overall, 81% of respondents thought the rate had increased in the last 20 years, while it has actually decreased by 12.6% since 1998, the baseline for the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy.

Simon Blake, Brook's Chief Executive, said: "With barely a week going by without a media story about teenage pregnancy, it's not surprising that the public believe it to be much more common than it actually is.

"This is particularly confusing for young people who may well think that teenage pregnancy is normal. It also fuels the myth that teenage pregnancy is escalating and nothing can be done. In fact significant reductions of many areas of the country shows that change is possible and we know what works to help young people prevent early pregnancy."

The data analysed in this press release was collected via Ipsos MORI's face-to-face omnibus service; Capibus. The survey interviewed a sample of 1,986 adults aged 15+ in Great Britain and the data has been weighted to be representative of the national population. Fieldwork was conducted between the 18th-24th July 2008

Brook is the UK's leading provider of sexual health services and advice for young people under 25. The charity has more than 40 years' experience of working with young people and currently has a network of more than 50 services in 18 areas of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Jersey

Brook services provide free and confidential sexual health information, contraception, pregnancy testing, advice and counselling, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections and outreach and education work, reaching more than 200,000 young people every year.

http://www.brook.org.uk