Impact of Teen Pregnancy on the Support System in the UK - Coursework Example

Impact of Teen Pregnancy on the Support System in the UK Introduction According to Curtis (2010) every year in the UK nearly 30,000 teenagers will give birth. Majority of teenage mothers suffer social and economic deprivation and the impact of teenage pregnancy on the health of mothers and their babies is well recorded. Babies born to teenagers are at a high risk of prematurity and are 25 % more likely than average to have a low birth weight and there is a 60 % higher than average infant mortality rate in babies born to teenagers (Allen, 2011). Lifestyle factors such as diet and smoking during pregnancy all contribute to these outcomes, which in turn increase the risk of death and illness in infants and increased lifetime morbidity. This research project explores the impact of support system on teen pregnancy. The scope of the project is to find out if there is support for teenagers who get pregnant. In this project the researcher will be looking at all the teenagers under the age of 20 who are pregnant, teenage mothers and anyone who had been pregnant before they were 20 with the aim of examining whether they receive support from UK Support system. The purpose of the research project The main purpose of this study was to investigate if there is a lot of support for pregnant teenagers from their partners, families and even other services. In addition, the researcher aimed at examining whether there is enough support for the pregnant teenagers. The study will also explore whether they know how to use the services or whether they aware about the support they could get during and after pregnancy. The objectives of this research project are; 1. To determine what sort of support do pregnant teenage get. 2. To assess whether the pregnant teenagers know about the support services available to them. 3. To identify what other support services are available and if it is to access them. 4. To determine if family members would or have support a teenager who is pregnant in their family. 5. To determine if partners will support their pregnant partner. Literature review Babies born to teenagers are more possible to have poor life outcomes. Most teenage mothers suffer physical, mental and emotional health conditions. All too frequently teenage parent families live in poverty (Field, 2011). There are various bodies that provide support to teenager mother in different ways. Some organizations offer that services support teenage mums to develop the skills and confidence they need to live independently. Mostly teenage mothers need support in areas such as budgeting, cooking, debt, benefits, self-esteem, confidence, assertiveness, and re-housing. Most support bodies are committed to giving them the opportunities in education, training and employment. Other organizations help these teenage mothers access other specialist services, so that they get the full range of help to really make a difference for them, for their babies and for their families. One such body that provides support for teenage mothers is Action for Children's Gabriel Court which oversees the performance and ensures a multi-agency strategic approach to reducing levels of teenage pregnancies in UK. A recent research effort reveals a substantial reduction of nearly 11 in their teenage pregnancy rates from 1998-2008 in UK; with nearly 46 % of these young mothers in employment, education and training, higher than the national average of 29 percent HM (Government, 2010). In the UK , the Teenage Parent Supported Housing (TPSH) initiative one of ‘Child Poverty program’ supporting local authorities and their partners to create innovative methods to addressing the causes and consequences of teenage poverty and improve outcomes for teenage mothers and families living in poverty. A considerable body of evidence records that teenage parents, and their children, are a group that experience significant disadvantage including extremely poor child health outcomes, poor parental emotional health and wellbeing, and poor economic wellbeing (Field, 2011). Babies of teenage mothers are at least 60 percent more likely to live in poverty than those born to mothers in their twenties. Whereas the latest figures reveal that the under-18 pregnancy rate for UK has gradually decreased for last 30 years almost 40,000 teenagers annually become pregnant. Little is known concerning the impact of various forms of accommodation and housing-related help on outcomes for teenage mothers and, by extension, their babies. The TPSH program sought to redress this gap in the evidence base. Under the TPSH program , local authorities (LAs) are selected to provide ‘enhanced support packages’ for teenage mothers, with a particular focus on those aged 16 and 17 and those not living with parents, that is, those resident in supported housing units or their own homes (HM Government, 2010). Research method In this research study, the researcher intends to do both primary and secondary research. For primary research, the researcher design a questionnaire in a way that he/she will get all the information required to be able to know if the teenagers have enough support while pregnant. The researcher therefore will use structured questionnaires which will be completed by pregnant teenagers and young mothers between the ages of 13 and 19 in the selected areas within the city of London UK, in a sample of 1000 participants from a population of 4,000,000 million youths in the same age bracket. For secondary research, the researcher will review books, journals, periodicals and articles on teen pregnancy. The researcher will all also use internet to get more information on the subject being researched. Data Processing and Analysis Upon collection of all participant surveys, the data will be analyzed using statistical methods and then be interpreted in light of the research questions. Then the results was summarized according to these categories and then illustrated using statistical graphs to give visual presentations to assist in measuring and interpreting of the research data collected. The analyzed data was then be interpreted in light of the research questions. Finally, the conclusions were made following the research results. Results In the appendixes there is a sample questionnaire showing the result of the interviews. The bar graph below shows the number of pregnant young women in 2007/08 and in 2012/2013 Questionnaire Questions 1. How old are you? Pie Chart showing age groups between different teenage years, with the majority of them being between the ages of 17 to 19 years 2. How can you describe the relationship with your family members after the learnt that you were pregnant? 1. Very Supportive 2. Mildly Supportive 3. Unsupportive Conclusion and Recommendation From the research project it is evident that pregnant teenagers get some support from the UK support system. Pregnant teenagers and young mothers get support from various agencies such as Children’s Gabriel Court among many others in the UK support system. This support is in the form of training them on how to address health conditions related to pregnancy and good life styles. They also provide financial and emotional support to teenage mothers. In addition we have found that pregnant teenagers also receive financial and moral support from their family members and sometimes their partners. From the research we have also learned the number of pregnant teenagers has decreased from above 40000 in 2007/2008 to below 30000 in 2012/2013. This can be attributed to government efforts in educating the youths about the consequences of teen pregnancies. More is needed to be done by UK support system. For instance, there is a need to educate the teenagers on the available support systems. This will allow them access them which will in turn help better their life outcomes. References Allen, G. (2011). Early intervention: The next steps, An Independent Review to Her Majesty’s Government, London. Botting, B., Rosato, M. and Wood, R. (1998) Teenage mothers and the health of their children. Population Trends. Curtis L. (2010) Unit Costs of Health and Social Care 2010, PSSRU, University of Kent. Dennison, C. (2004) Teenage Pregnancy: an Overview of the Research Evidence, Health Development Agency, London. Field, F. (2011). The Foundation Years: Preventing Poor Children Becoming Poor Adults, The Report of the Independent Review on Poverty and Life Chances, London. Hosie, A., Selman, P., Speak, S., Dawson, N. and Meadows, S. (2005). The Education of Pregnant Young Women and Young Mothers in England. Teenage Pregnancy Unit. HM Government (2010). The Coalition: our programme for government. London: Cabinet Office. Johnsen, S. and Quilgars, D. (2010). Teenage Parent Support Housing Pilot Evaluation: Interim Report. London: Department for Education. Peace, N. (2008) Changing Supporting People Funding in England: Results from a pilot Exercise, London: Communities and Local Government Social Exclusion Unit (1999). Teenage Pregnancy: Report by the Social Exclusion Unit. London: HMSO. APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRE 1. QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE PREGNANT TEENAGER (i) Please indicate your age Group 13-14 15- 16 17 – 19 (ii) Please answer ALL the questions. There is no right or wrong answers. Mark answers with a cross (×) 1. Do you receive any sort of support from UK support system? yes ( x ) no ( ) 2. If your answer in question 1 above yes is please describe which support do you receive? There is a local train me on how to develop the skills and confidence I need to live independently. Mostly it support in budgeting, cooking, debt, benefits, self-esteem, confidence and how should assertiveness. They are also helping in getting opportunities in education, training and employment. 3. Are you aware of other supports available for young mothers? Yes I am aware of other support systems. I went for clinic at our local health care facility I was told of Teenage Parent Supported Housing (TPSH). I was informed that this initiative one of ‘Child Poverty program’ supporting local authorities and their partners to create innovative methods to addressing the causes and consequences of teenage poverty and improve outcomes for teenage mothers and families living in poverty. I was told of other local agencies such as Action for Children's Gabriel Court which also supports pregnant teenagers. 4. Do your family members support you? If yes which support Yes my family supports me a lot. My parents provide me with money for shopping and also stay at their home. They also educate me on good lifestyles. Particularly my mother stresses that I should not smoke while I am pregnant because this could affect the inborn child. 5. Does your partner support you? if yes which support Yes my partner supports me. He gives me money when I want to go for the clinic and sometimes he comes at my room. Read More