Introduction

In recent years teenage pregnancy rates in the United
Kingdom have remained consistently above most of our
European neighbours and recent data suggests the rates
in this country are starting to climb again . 1 Teenage
pregnancy has serious health and social consequences for
teenage mothers, their babies and their families. 2 Compared
to older women, teenagers are more likely to experience
short and long term negative outcomes in pregnancy and
motherhood. These may include adverse health outcomes
such as poor antenatal health, low birth weight babies and
high infant mortality as well as socio-economic problems
such as unemployment, poor housing and poverty.
The long term trend of high rates of teenage
conceptions in this country led the Government to develop
an action plan aimed at tackling teenage pregnancy. 1 The
comprehensive programme for action proposed in this
report is to be delivered through a national campaign
teamed with local action. The Social Exclusion Unit Report
included a recommendation that the local and health
authorities will jointly be expected to develop a local
strategy aimed at tackling teenage pregnancy. The report
specified that this strategy would be expected to include a
local profile of the picture of teenage parenthood, focusing
on groups and areas with high rates as well as groups
nationally recognised as high risk.
The South West Public Health Observatory was asked by
the Regional Project Board for Reducing Teenage
Conceptions in the South West to provide information
support to local teenage pregnancy co-ordinators. The main
aims of the project have been to produce a regional picture
of teenage pregnancies and to provide support for local coordinators
to assist them in the production of their local
profiles. This regional profile will focus on teenage
conceptions and key associated factors at a regional, health
authority, local authority and electoral ward level alongside
an overview of the current provision of services aimed at
tackling teenage pregnancy. This regional profile also aims
to build on the work conducted at the University of
Southampton by Clements et al in 1999, which examined
the factors accounting for the variation in teenage
conceptions within the region. 3