Peterborough teen pregnancy rate falls

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

Legal status of foetus at centre of landmark case

A council - which cannot be named for legal reasons but is located somewhere in the north-west of England - is set to argue that a child who was born with serious health defects as a result of her mother's drinking habits should be given a compensation payout for being the victim of a crime. The child, who also cannot be named, was diagnosed with foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) at birth. She is now six years old and living with foster parents.

Susan Fleisher adopted a three-year-old girl who she later learned was suffering from FAS, and has since set up a charity - the National Organisation for Foetal Alcohol Syndrome UK - to help people deal with the condition. The 67-year-old, whose daughter Addie is now 25, believes drinking while pregnant should never be considered a crime. "No mother deliberately holds a gun to their child's head," Mrs Fleisher said.

Current guidelines do not explicitly prohibit the consumption of alcohol for expectant mothers. The Department of Health guidance says that "women who are pregnant or trying to conceive should avoid alcohol altogether". But then it goes on to say that "if they do choose to drink, to minimise the risk to the baby, we recommend they should not drink more than 1-2 units once or twice a week, and pregnant women should not get drunk". The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence also concedes there is "uncertainty about how much alcohol is safe to drink in pregnancy".

However, in the case of the six-year-old girl at the centre of these ongoing proceedings, the mother did not adhere to anything close to these restrictions. An earlier tribunal hearing found she had "consumed grossly excessive quantities of alcohol" and had been "using drugs".

Janet Fyle, professional policy adviser at the Royal College of Midwives, said while FAS was not common, it could have devastating effects. While she could not comment on the legal case specifically, she added: "It's wrong for a woman to consume large amounts of alcohol while she is pregnant. But let's get away from the moral judgement. It is sold over the counter, as are cigarettes. And the law says the foetus has no legal status as it cannot live independently of the mother."

Pregnancy drinking examined as possible crime in landmark case bbc.co.uk 5th March 2014

Postnatal depression more likely after unplanned pregnancy

Women who get pregnant unintentionally are four times more likely to suffer from postpartum depression, according to new research. The study, published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, found that postpartum depression was more likely in women with unintended pregnancies at both three and twelve months after birth.
The study, conducted at the University of North Carolina prenatal clinics questioned participants about pregnancy intention at 15-19 weeks gestational age. The increased risk was highest at 12 months and indicates that this group of women have a long term risk of depression.
When age, education level and poverty status were factored into the results, women with unintended pregnancy were still twice as likely to have postpartum depression at twelve months.
Louise Silverton, director for midwifery at the Royal College of Midwives, said:
"We are seriously short of midwives in England and we know that postnatal care is suffering because of this. We are hearing of midwives having to make fewer postnatal visits, if at all. This is a concern because the problems this research highlights may go undetected and the consequences of this can be serious, for the women, for families and for the health service."

Unintended pregnancies increase the risk of postpartum depression - Female First 8th May 2013