Concern over Redcar's teenage pregnancy rates

It was included as a “what we are worried about” item in a recent performance update report by the director of children and families services at the council, Kathryn Boulton.

Read more: Mitsubishi stolen from a farm near Darlington after keys were swiped

The local authority said that between March 2020 and February this year there were 36 births involving women aged 19 and under from an overall total of 1,148 births.

Historically teenage pregnancy rates have been high in Redcar and Cleveland, compared to many other areas.

Figures compiled by the Office for National Statistics for the under 16 age category – and taking into account conceptions rather than births – show that between 2017 and 2019 the conception rate per 1,000 head of population in the borough was 6.7%.

This was higher than the conception rate across the North East as a whole (4.2%) as well as the England rate (2.5%).

Only Middlesbrough (8.6%), which like Redcar and Cleveland forms part of the South Tees public health area, had a higher conception rate.

A Redcar and Cleveland Council spokesman said the figures “remained high compared to other areas and had increased slightly”, but should be kept in perspective.

The report said the council was exploring a process whereby antenatal and postnatal teenage mothers would be tracked by health visitors and school nurses to identify the factors that had impacted on them.

Meanwhile, an audit of teenage antenatal mothers had been carried out to identify those known to safeguarding officials and to consider whether domestic violence was a “complicating factor”.

The spokesman said health professionals employed by the local authority were working to reduce the teenage pregnancy rate and provide “high quality support” to teenagers who did become pregnant. 

He said: “Action is being taken to help inform and educate teenagers about avoiding pregnancy.

“This includes a number of sexual health information events for older teenagers organised by school nurses, who engage directly with young people across the borough.

“Support for those who do become pregnant includes offering contact with not only health visitors but school nurses, social workers and midwives. 

“Extra support is available through our Foundation for Jobs scheme to look at possible education and employment needs and further support packages are being developed with the council’s family hub services for young families.”

‘Significant factor’ Dr Kimberly Jamie, an associate Professor of Sociology at Durham University, has led a variety of research projects focusing on teenage mothers since 2014 with her work in this area being funded by the likes of Cancer Research UK and the Economic and Social Research Council.

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that social deprivation was “certainly the most significant factor” with the majority of teenage pregnancies being concentrated in the most deprived areas and population.

However she said women who had children young as teenagers did not necessarily see drastically different outcomes for themselves or their children when compared with women from similar backgrounds who had children later on.

Dr Jamie said: “Teenage pregnancy and early childbearing isn’t the problem, poverty and inequality is the problem.”

The professor said that funding cuts to public health over the past several years had exacerbated the issue.

She said: “They affect the poorest communities, which are already the communities where teenage pregnancy is likely to be higher.

“So you have a double whammy.

“Not only have services been removed in the first place potentially making teenage pregnancies more likely, along with all the other things that come from a lack of access to sexual services – sexually transmitted affections, abuse, grooming and rape – but when teenage pregnancies do occur, the young women have nowhere to go to get advice, support and help.”

Dr Jamie said authorities risked a “knee-jerk reaction” to teenage pregnancy rates “with the assumption being that even a handful [of births] was too many”.

Read more: Thrill-seekers flock to Yarm Fair as centuries-old tradition continues

She said: “The bigger question, for me is what are the material circumstances that lead very young women into the understanding that having a baby in challenging circumstances – for instance limited financial resources and a reliance on benefits – is a positive, or perhaps only, choice. 

“We also need to acknowledge young women’s autonomy in reaching this conclusion for themselves – not every teenage pregnancy is ‘unwanted’ or ‘accidental’ or a ‘mistake’.”

She said teenage pregnancies should be a concern for what they revealed about the material circumstances in which many children grew up and also for what they revealed about enduring and worsening inequalities.

But it was a subject “loaded with all kinds of historical prejudices” about working class women’s sexuality and their sexual practices.

She said: “I believe that teenage pregnancy wouldn’t be considered to be as much of an issue if it happened in greater numbers in the middle classes.

“Then we might see a much stronger rhetoric of choice around how lives pan out differently, for instance that having a baby before university or before getting a first job is a legitimate lifestyle choice.”

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated Teesside Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054