Edinburgh Napier University

  The recent public health white paper “Choosing Health” (2004) made significant commitments to sexual health and in particular the reduction of unintended teenage pregnancies, especially in areas with high teenage conception rates. Despite a strong local teenage pregnancy strategy and an active programme of activity to improve access to sexual health services (including family planning) and to provide education to help young people resist pressure to have early sex, Kingston upon Hull remains amongst the Local Authorities with the highest rates of teenage conceptions nationally. Although not all conceptions in young women are unplanned or unwelcome, an unintended pregnancy can have a long term impact on a young person in terms of well-being, education and life chances, in addition to the risk of poorer outcomes for the baby, should the young woman decide to continue with the pregnancy.