London teen pregnancies hit record low - BBC News
Free condoms have helped teenage pregnancies in the capital reach a record low, NHS London has said.
The was a total of 960 pregnancies among under 18s in London in the first quarter of 2011, according to latest Office for National Statistics figures.
This is the first time the figure has fallen below 1,000 since records began, NHS London said.
"In the last year more than 50,000 condoms have been handed out across the capital," NHS London said.
The number of pregnancies among under-18s fell from 1,158 in the same period in 2010.
The pregnancy rate per 1,000 girls between the ages of 15 and 17 fell by 16% in the first quarter of 2011, compared with the same period the previous year.
This brought the capital in line with the national average of 32.8 pregnancies per 1,000 girls for the first time, NHS London said.
NHS London director of public health Dr Simon Tanner said: "We have worked with primary care trusts in London to develop better sexual health provision for teenagers, to improve access to contraception and education for young people about safe sex.
"We have improved access to sexual health services at further education colleges, working with young people to understand what they need and how we can provide the best service for teenagers."
Havering, in east London, was the borough that achieved the greatest decline in teenage pregnancies - a fall of 46.9% over a one year period.
London 2012 Olympics: weather won't dampen British spirits but Locog could learn from Jubilee success - Daily Telegraph Blogs
Out in force: regardless of the dreary weather the Brits were smiling
If the magical festivities of the Queens Diamond Jubilee proved beyond doubt – and how could we have had any such doubts? – it is that Britons, deep down are happy people.
The London Olympics and Paralympics have always been a portent for a month of non-stop good times, but with this summer-long party having started in the most majestic of ways the Olympic concerns of transport, security and crowding are but just an annoying sideshow.
For while the economies of countries around Britain are tanking, the weather is bitterly cold, uninspiringly grey and sodden, the stiff backbone of the British character is shining at its brightest.
Who would have thought that the dismal weather actually enhanced the weekend celebrations?
The fear of Olympic organisers is for a fortnight of dreary conditions not unlike Sunday. Yet the Queen's steely resolve to stand and acknowledge the heaving riverbank masses of red, white and blue despite the damp elevated the river spectacle way beyond it being a simple I-have-to-be-there-moment with strangers cuddling close to keep warm.
Commentators have talked about crowds 20-deep along the Thames on Sunday, but I rode my bike the length of the parade on the south side and 50-deep was the norm. From my vantage point, underneath the Millennium Bridge where artists were painting the modern-day Canaletto panorama, there was British sparkling wine in plastic cups, crisps and chocolate (in the shape of the Union Jack) shared around, and a subtle shuffle of order when the pageant started so that the little ones could get a better view.
Tens of thousands of spectators then weaved their way back to the railway stations. A queue of colourful umbrellas 700-yards long – presumably with people underneath sheltering from the driving rain outside of Waterloo – transformed this drab part of the city in to an eclectic party scene. Even so, taking the bicycle turned out to be an inspired choice.
Railway chiefs will have noted the failures of the trains to cope with the thousands of passengers turned away at Birmingham and other major cities and the chaos at tube stations like Westminster and Vauxhall.
Seemingly the crowd – officially 1.2 million – was much bigger than organisers expected. But we have seen throughout the Olympic torch relay that everyone across the country wants to get outside and engage with their community.
This is the summer of wearing funny hats and getting to know neighbours (the things you learn at a street party: mine is that a neighbour is a member of a popular boy band).
Yet some of the pageant spectators were perturbed by the sight of police carrying assault weapons along the river, others were frustrated by the crowd control officers more concerned with getting their packed lunched and sliver of a vantage point, rather than assisting those that were struggling especially families with young children.
With the Olympics security force now above 42,000 (military, Met Police, G4S staff and Locog security volunteers) Games planners can learn much from the river pageant.
More carriages on the trains, more toilets, more entertainment near critical transport hubs to turn a wait into a more relaxed time should be top of the list.
Organisers will have also seen that the good-natured crowds will put up with nearly anything if the mood of those in uniform is happy and relaxed and there appears to be some semblance of progress. Keep Calm and Smile On.
0 Responses to "London teen pregnancies hit record low - BBC News"
Post a Comment