East Lancashire teenage pregnancy figures are 'a step in the right direction' (From Lancashire Telegraph)

East Lancashire teenage pregnancy figures are 'a step in the right direction'

2:00pm Friday 8th March 2013 in News

BURNLEY has been named in the top five areas in the UK for pregnancy rates among girls aged between 15 and 17, in new figures released by the Office for National Statistics.

The figures show 87 girls in the borough got pregnant in 2011 – about five per cent – moving Burnley up the list from its position of ninth in the previous year.

Blackpool came top of the list with 149 pregnancies, which represents about six per cent of girls between 15 and 17.

The rate in Blackburn with Darwen was less than three per cent, just below the national average, while Ribble Valley saw one of the lowest rates in the country at 1.7 per cent.

Chorley, Rossendale and Hyndburn all recorded rates of about 3.5per cent, just above average, while the rate in Pendle was about four per cent.

Lancashire health chiefs said they will continue working hard to help youngsters make informed choices about contraception and their sexual health, pointing out there has been a gradual reduction in under-18 conceptions over the last 15 years.

The number of 15 to 17-year-olds getting pregnant in Burnley has almost halved since 1998, the figures show.

A spokesman for Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust said: “Although there have been slight fluctuations and increases in particular areas, the downward trend is positive and a step in the right direction.

“We will continue to work with our partners to ensure that young people in East Lancashire are able to make informed choices about contraception and sexual health.

“The trust employs a whole range of dedicated staff in the sexual health service who act as a source of specialist knowledge and provide expert advice, education and training to colleagues, other professionals, the local community and young people.”

To contact your local Contraception and Sexual Health Service call 01254 282531 for Hyndburn and Ribble Valley, 01282 644268 for Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale, or 01254 282730 for Blackburn with Darwen.

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