The number of teenage girls getting pregnant in Powys has shown a huge decline according to the latest figures from Public Health Wales.
In just three years, teenage pregnancy rates have dropped from 24 per 1,000 to 16 per 1,000, resulting in 23 fewer pregnancies when comparing 2010 with 2013.
Stuart Bourne, Deputy Director of Public Health for Powys Teaching Health Board says: “Having a child at an early age can damage young people’s health and well-being and limit their education and economic prospects. While individual young people can be competent and loving parents, all the evidence suggests that teenage parents and their children experience a range of negative outcomes in childhood and later life. There is still work to be done to empower young people to have the skills, confidence and motivation to look after their sexual health, avoid unwanted conceptions and delay parenthood, but today’s results showing a declining trend in teenage conceptions is a welcome finding for Powys”.
A number of factors have helped to reduce the rate of pregnancies in young women, including APAUSE sexual health training in schools across Powys and the ’Sorted’ C-Card scheme which gives young people under the age of 25 easy access to free support, advice and contraception.