Why teenage pregnancy isn't the mother of all evils

Some condemn IVF treatment for 50-something women, others are happy to play fast and loose with the natural order of things, but most agree that getting pregnant before you're out of school uniform is a bad

idea.

Last week, Hilary Mantel did her best to upset the apple cart by suggesting that at 14 she was perfectly capable of setting up home and some women might, in fact, benefit from having children earlier than they currently do.

The author's musings, which challenged the idea teenage mums have become a pin-up for Broken Britain, were dismissed in some quarters as irresponsible and ill-thought out. The facts, they said, speak for themselves.

Teen mums tend to come from socially disadvantaged backgrounds and are far more likely to raise families in poverty.

They also face higher risks of their children being born prematurely, dying in the first year of life and having developmental problems later on.

Psychologically speaking, teenage mothers are also three times more likely to suffer from post-natal depression and experience poor mental health for up to three years after the birth.

However, should Mantel ever feel the urge to wade into the debate

again, she could do worse than seek the advice of Simon Duncan, editor of the provocatively titled book, Teenage Parenthood: What's the Problem?, which argues that in many cases, far from being

a "catastrophe", pregnancy can instead be an opportunity for young people to turn their lives around.

"Teenage mothers and fathers not only do no worse in terms of their future employment or income than any of their peers – in many cases they do a bit better," says the professor of social policy at Bradford University. "They generally become more purposeful and responsible, get more connected to their families and community, try to get better training and a good job, and give up some of their bad habits."

The book questions the notion that all teenage pregnancies are

unplanned. It also faces head-on the idea that many teenage girls actively want to have babies, a notion that in so many reports has been the elephant in the room.

"There's a strange mix-up between the words 'unplanned' and 'unwanted'," explains Prof Duncan. "Most teens aren't ignorant about sex or contraception; some people just want to have a child. And while some teen pregnancies might be planned, others might be 'accidental on purpose' for that very reason."

According to latest figures, rates of teen births in Britain continue to be the highest in Western Europe: twice as high as in France, three times higher than Germany and four times higher than the Netherlands.

Millions of pounds have already been ploughed into better sex education and greater access to contraception, but after a decade- long strategy to halve teen pregnancies, the Government has strayed far from its target.

According to new data from the Office for National Statistics, the number of under-18s falling pregnant has dropped by just 14 per cent since 1998 and Prof Duncan believes that the problem is more to do with how parenthood is viewed in this country.

"The question is, is it something that you do in your 30s after securing a partner, job and mortgage or can it be done at a younger

age?

"The Government only really recognises the first option, the slow lane to parenthood, but it may not suit other people or their circumstances.

"Overall, however, it should be noted that teenage parenting is a very minor social issue – in fact, it's lower now than it ever was in the 1960s or '70s. The truth is, it's not the teenage bit that's the problem, it's the socio-economic disadvantage of the parents that's the problem."

Inevitably, Prof Duncan's conclusions have not been universally embraced, with opponents citing high abortion rates among teens as proof that there is still a problem that needs to be dealt with.

"Around half of all teen conceptions end in abortion," says Penny Barber of Brook, a charity which provides sexual health services and advice to young people.

"We know that at least half the young women conceiving don't think having the baby is the best thing for them to do.

"While there are some cracking young parents whose lives have turned around as a result of their pregnancy, the question is really, would they ideally have preferred to wait another couple of years to get their own lives in order?"