Teen births edging down

Teen pregnancy is down in the Hawke's Bay

Sexual health messages are getting through to teens in Hawke's Bay, says a teenage pregnancy expert.

New statistics show mothers aged 19 and under in Hawke's Bay accounted for 8.4 per cent of births in the region during 2013 - a drop from 2006, when more than 10 per cent of births involved teen mums.

The figures were released by the Social Policy Evaluation and Research Unit (Superu) formerly known as the Families Commission.

The manager of family services at the Napier Family Centre, Limor Strong, said she hadn't noticed a big drop in teen birthing numbers but she had seen an increase in shared information and assistance.

"There is more awareness and a lot more community houses now that give [contraceptive] pills and education so it could be that. If there is a drop, it is because there is a lot more awareness and a lot more support," she said.

Ms Strong said more needed to be done, however, to further reduce the number of teenage mothers in Hawke's Bay.

"There need to be more contraceptive options available and it needs to be talked about more at schools.

"I think if there was a community nurse coming to school when teenagers were at puberty age and they explained all the contraceptive options and gave them out for free, there would be a further reduction in teenage pregnancies," she said.

"From my experience, and I have worked with quite a few teenagers, they have a kind of romantic thought about pregnancy and having a baby. Then they get pregnant and find out how hard it is and what a big job it is. If they realise the real impact of having a baby they would think twice."

According to the statistics just under 40 per cent of teenage births in Hawke's Bay were to women aged 19 while women aged 18 had around 33 per cent of babies.

Nationally, the teen birth rate dropped to the lowest numbers on record in 2013 with 5.9 per cent of births involving teen mothers.

Teenage births were down in all regions except Northland.

The data also revealed a decline in the teenage abortion rate, which halved between 2007 and 2013.

Superu chief executive Clare Ward said New Zealand's teenage birthrate was still high for a developed country.

"We are second only to the US in the latest figures, but the numbers are heading down, which is the right direction.

"The evidence shows us that teen births are associated with poor educational and social outcomes for some teen parents and their children, so it's encouraging that the percentage of teen births is decreasing."

The research would be shared with policymakers in Government working on improving outcomes for teen parents, and on improving the sexual and reproductive health of young people, Ms Ward said.

Despite the lower number of teen pregnancies, only 60 per cent of teenagers surveyed in the youth survey said they always used contraception to prevent pregnancy.

That percentage has not changed for the last 10 years. NZME.