Ante Natal Classes at school?

[R1Geezer]

Good or bad? Would it normalise teenage pregnancy? Would it create envy among school girls and hence encourage others to get up the duff?
Oh it's on the front page of the daily Mail by the way!

[LoftyLottie]

Perhaps the days when these irresponsible young girls nearly all gave their babies up for adoption were no so bad. The babies probably ended up with better parents. There are very few babies available nowadays for adoption.

I am not of the opinion that babies are all better off with their natural mothers!!! They will probably follow in their mothers footsteps.

There will always be genuine accidents of girls getting pregnant, but it seems to me that a lot of these girls actually want to get pregnant and have babies.

I am not saying that all young mothers are like this by the way.

[sophie_1003]

That's the problem lofty; how to separate those who will end up being fantastic mothers and those who won't?

[LoftyLottie]

Sometimes it's pretty obvious Sophie!!

I really don't know what the answer is. I still think it's down to a breakdown in real family values and proper parenting in a lot of cases, but obviously not all. Some parents just don't seem to have time for their kids any more.

[B00]

I love Lottie, more i see her posts more im convinced im her (younger) twin ;-)

[boxtops]

Hi all - I saw this on the news, I'm afraid that in two of the wards round here, it's the norm, we have the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the county.... we even had an NHS department dedicated to going into schools to give out condoms etc., and they are free from some GP surgeries. Sad reflection of the times, what goes around comes around. I remember a girl in my sixth form in 1966 being pregnant and far from being clever, we all thought she was really stupid to chuck away her life like that.

[LoftyLottie]

I love you too BOO!! (I am old enough to be your Mother!!)

[Sqad]

I love you too BOO and lofty...............anyone else?

[B00]

That's what we're getting at boxtops. Even though the help and information is out there, and these kids seem clued up on them, the pregnancy rate is sky rocketing. So it seems this enlightened,anything goes, society we seem to have become isn't working.

I remember a girl when I was in my final year at school, back in 1986 was pregnant, and even then the rest of us were agog, and pretty much treated her like a leper, the concept of someone so young having a baby was alien to us.

[LoftyLottie]

BOO, my final year at college was in 1966 :o(

Nobody at school or at College ever got pregnant whilst they were there. Only one of my friends (well acquaintance actually) got pregnant whilst she was single and she was 19 and working. The baby was adopted.

As you say BOO, the kids are fully aware about sex and contraception. Education at school isn't go to change a thing. There needs to be a radical change in society.

Why has the UK got one of the worse stats for teenage pregnancy? Because we generally don't have proper family values any more.

[B00]

Back to family values then Butch I guess,as Lottie said. Quite how this could be achieved now is beyond me, but I'd like to see it. It was still there, just, when I was growing up, though I am worried or should I say slightly concerned into what kind of society my 5 year old will be growing up into. I don't want her growing up in an environment where she thinks having sex at a young age is fine and dandy, and should the worst happen, someone else will pick up the tab for it.

[LoftyLottie]

She is unlikely to be like that BOO. She has you for a Mum.

(She wouldn't dare!! ;o)!!!!)

[anneasquith]

teenage pregnancy is a major problem in this country....................... but even more worrying is the increase in sexually transmitted diseases

[B00]

lol Lottie, my 22 year old would agree with that one ;-)

I'm sincerely hoping that she will grow up with a fairly decent set of morals, don't get me wrong, im no Ma Walton, but I try!

[ummmm]

Anne...are you serious? Catching a disease that can be treated with a course of antibiotics is worse than having a baby? lol

[LoftyLottie]

Why do you think this country has more of a problem Anne than other European countries?

[LoftyLottie]

BOO, I am quite pleased with the way my Son has turned out. Mr LL and I must have done something right.

[anneasquith]

the issue with the std, they often go untreated for a long period. they are passed from one person to another, they can be symptom free to many , resulting in infertility and congenital infections, re the statistics for teenage pregnancy, can only tell you what i read in a recent report from the department of health.

[sophie_1003]

Butch- the sure start vouchers are given out for milk and fruit and veg but some shops still accept them as payment for cigarettes and alcohol.