"ALARMING PREGNANCY RATES AMONGST BLACK AND MIXED RACE TEENAGERS"

[crouchingtigeress]

Do these headlines help or damage the situation?
In anycase what needs to be done, in general, more education (informative or scare tactics), more career guidance, more role models, more opportunities????????????????????????

Well first of all, it would help if you gave us a reference to these headlines as it is difficult to comment without seeing the source of the information first hand.

Secondly, how is mixed race defined - there are lots of combination that can be considered mixed, e.g. white Irish/Spanish.

Thirdly, my first thought, rather flippantly I suppose, was that maybe black girls are less incline to have an abortion compared to the other groups (I'm assuming the comparison is with mainly Caucasian and Asian girls).

I have attached a link to the DoH for the latest statistics on abortion in the UK, here . In 2004, there was over 185000 abortions. Now considering that 92% of the population is white, 2.2% is black and 1.4% is mixed, 4.4% South Asian and 0.4% Chinese (stats are here ), if the population is 60million, then approx 1.3 million are black, approx half will be women and only a percentage of that will be teenagers. Therefore, from my rough deduction, the figures suggest that most abortions must be from the white population.

Therefore, my question is, what point was the original article trying to make and did it consider all the facts such as abortion rates etc?

TBH, the issue was being discussed on BBC London (Geoff Schuman show)last week. I think the health minister released a statemnt. I just wondered what people thought about the issue, I didn;t particularly want an academic debate, (I've got enough of that at uni).

Generally I don't think the Asian population would have more abortions than the African/Caribbean population. I found this in The Times:

Black British girls also have proportionately more abortions, accounting for 9 per cent of all terminations to women under 18, even though they make up 3 per cent of the population of women aged 15 to 17.

It's from this article: \link{http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2279337,00.html}

185000 abortions???? all those babies

Well, if the figures are correct, I am alarmed. Don't know why it happens but maybe something to do with peer pressure to have sex and associating self esteem with having a boyfriend. A complex issue.

I know quootiepie, that's what I thought. As a society, are we comfortable with such a figure?

im in no position to really comment, i had an abortion last year... it was chilling the amount of girls on the ward with me though. IMO its all to easy to have one anyway... I went to GP to talk about adoption Its like going for a bloodtest...in/out all sorted. Sickening.

It's sort of ironic isn't it, high abortion + high pregnancy rate, this is even with the accessibility of contraception (esp. the morning after pill).

Emphasizing the high pregnancy rate amongst BME groups, is only helpful if understanding is used in conjunction with prevention. In my (old)neighbourhood alot of my younger sister's friends (19 yrs)are pregnant, with one on baby number two.

Speedymama I think you're definitely right when you say "peer pressure to have sex and associating self esteem with having a boyfriend" + it is also a complex issue. In the case of the girls I know, they are not happy at home, public housing is not an option untill you have a dependent, for some a baby, flat and 'babyfather' is a way of showing others that they have become independent and entered adulthood (even, if ironically) the independence from parent is replaced by a dependence on the state.

I'd be interested to know the figures or approximate figures. Also class is probably a big factor. The rate of teenage pregnancies in the working classes or dependant classes are, I suspect, higher than middle classes.

When I was growing up in Birmingham, the council use to tell young girls that if they wanted a flat, they could get to the front of the queue by having a baby. Many of the girls I went to school with (black, white) had babies by the time they were 18yo and most split up with the father by the time the baby was born. I am 41yo and did not have my first babies until I was 39yo. I also did not have my first boyfriend, now DH, until I was 30yo as I was so focussed on my education and career and nothing or nobody was going to stand in my way.

It appears that despite more awareness of contraceptives, more sex education in school, unprecedented opportunities for girls in education and the workplace, many are still choosing this route. Of course there are accidents but I'm convinced many make a concious decision to go via this route. I know my 15yo cousin did. She now has 5 children and is a qualified midwife so at least she has turned things around.

Hiya... I went to private school, middle class etc etc and I got pregnant at 18 and was led into an abortion. On the other hand, I married and had a baby at 19 and have bought a house with husband. Its not always lower class having abortions, and its not always young mums who are in council houses. Most probably do fit the typical stereotypes, but some dont.

Speedymama your situation is an exact mirror image to mine growing up in North West London. I feel clearer educational/ career structures need to be outlined in school, as well as alternative options for getting housing.
Some young women manage to focus more, and become more ambitious once they become mothers; though it can't be easy.

In my local authority the youth service have identified a number of suggested factors in the high number of black british / African-Caribbean girls having babies at a young age and single. Many are linked to problems of inner-city poverty, it is an area of very high male unemployment, very high single parent families and teenage parents, and high under-achievement in education. Problems include young black men having a dislike of contraception, low self-esteem of girls, their own mothers who gave birth very young, and little parental support. In some cases it is true that there may be less fear of having a child at an early age because grandparents in Caribbean families often take care of the children.

This figure is in sharp contrast to the HIGHER percentage of young black women who are doing very well indeed and looking to their education and rising consciousness to give themselves a better life. I think it is helpful to look at the wider social context for these young pregnant women, and also to look at those who are postponing motherhood.

Very true Aesop.
(I'm supposed to be doing an assignment but keep coming back to Mumsnet - must focus, must focus, aagggghhhhh)

i think that this is a problem for all young girl black white pink purple all girls areas also has any1 forgotten most young mother are white brittish which is y we have one of the higgest rate of female pregnancy the goverment shoulb be foccussing on how to help all young girl want to acheive and for better resourses in the areas i grew up in quite a poor area in london and there was lots and lots of young motheres compared to middle class really they should be doing something more prodctive then working out which of whatever race is having the most babies