Improved sex education in Peterborough has been credited with reducing the number of teenage pregnancies in the city.
New figures show that for every thousand pregnancies in the city, girls aged 15 to 17 accounted for 28.1. The statistics relate to the last quarter of 2012 and for the same period in 2011, the number stood at 34.7 - and were even higher earlier in 2012 when it reached 43, one of the highest rates in the country.
Dr Henrietta Ewart, interim director of public health for Peterborough City Council, said: “We want young people to have the knowledge and confidence to delay sex until they are ready, and to be able to make informed and healthy choices."
Dr Ewart praised the work carried out by Peterborough Regional College (PRC) with youngsters, including young mums.
Despite the reduction in the city, the rate is still higher than the English average, which stands at 26.3.
The number of teenage pregnancies fell across Cambridgeshire as well as in Peterborough, according to figures from the Office of National Statistics. In the county there was a rate of 17.7 teenage pregnancies in every thousand in the final quarter of 2012, compared to 20.4 the previous year.
The national rate for England and Wales has been falling for a number of months, with the figure at the start of 2011 standing at 31.6, but falling to 26.1 by September 2012. There was a slight rise in the final quarter of the year, to 26.4.
Teenage pregnancy rate in Peterborough falls to lowest level for two years Peterborough Telegraph 9th March 2014
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