The statistics are so well known that they no longer shock - Britain has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in Western Europe. Almost 100,000 babies are born to teenage mothers in Britain each year, including 9,000 to girls under the age of 16.
The Government's goal of halving the teenage pregnancy rate by 2000 has now been postponed until 2010 because the rate has remained unchanged over the past decade. And after a recent study into the causes of violence, criminologist George Hosking said parents aged under 16 were contributing to 'a cycle' of aggression that meant Britons were now 25 times more likely to be a victim of violence than they were 50 years ago.
This is one group of parents the Government's Sure Start programme aims specifically to help, but a recent evaluation of its projects led by Edward Melhuish, Professor of Human Development at Birkbeck College, University of London, suggests otherwise. It found that the teenage mothers' children scored worse in many developmental markers than those of older mothers.
In areas with a Sure Start programme, teenage mothers' children scored lower on verbal ability and social competence and higher on behavioural problems than other children. Teenage mothers were also more likely to engage in negative parenting than mothers aged over 20, and among nine-month-olds, those with teenage mothers had more accidents.
Teenage mothers' children in Sure Start areas were also compared with those in areas that did not have a Sure Start programme, but the results were equally discouraging. Compared with non-Sure Start areas, teenage mothers in Sure Start areas were more likely to have children who scored lower in verbal activity, and showed fewer social competencies and more behavioural problems. The mothers were also less likely to engage in learning activities with their children.
Hard to reach
Why do the children of teenage mothers score so badly? Is Sure Start failing their mothers? One explanation suggested by the evaluation is that parents with greater human capital are more able to take advantage of Sure Start resources and services than those with less human capital, such as teenage mothers, lone parents and households in which nobody is working. So although Sure Start services are available to many teenage mothers, they are not taking full advantage of them or are not using them at all.
Professor Melhuish says that although there were wide variations between the projects the evaluation looked at, Sure Start programmes tend to find teenage mothers more difficult to reach.
He says, 'Sure Start tends to be reaching the majority of parents, but is less successful with disadvantaged groups such as teen mums. The efforts made vary enormously. In some areas there is a lot of effort made, and these efforts are very successful, but in the main Sure Start is not good at reaching teenage mothers.'
It has been suggested, says Professor Melhuish, that disadvantaged groups such as teenage mothers may resent people doing things for them and view it as interference. Perhaps they have become accustomed to people telling them what to do instead of asking what they want.
This is the experience of Gateshead Young Women's Outreach Project, a charity that offers support to women aged between 13 and 19. Julie Stott, young mothers' outreach worker, works with teenagers who are pregnant and young mothers under the age of 19. Part of her job involves accompanying them to appointments and providing support.
Julie believes the problem is the way in which society views young mothers.
She says, 'I regularly see young mums not being treated well. The main problem is how they are seen by others. If a person is viewed negatively all the time, this will have a negative impact on their behaviour. People behave how they are expected to behave. There are lots of issues to do with education that have an impact. Housing is also always an issue.'
In her experience, if a teenage mother feels that others are looking down on her she won't participate. For this reason, Julie says, there is a need for projects aimed specifically at young mothers, such as the supportive education programme and the antenatal group for young women that Gateshead Young Women's Outreach Project runs.
To encourage a more positive attitude to teenage mothers, the project is currently working on an information pack to be distributed to local childcare providers. The pack aims to dispel some of the myths and damaging attitudes about teenage mothers. The idea is that improving society's view of teenage mothers should have a knock-on effect on how they view themselves. If they see themselves more positively, it is more likely that they will show signs of more positive parenting, reversing some of the negative findings highlighted by the Sure Start evaluation.
Life opportunities
Many people assume that a teenage pregnancy equates to a loss of opportunity, but research conducted last year by Professor John Ermisch at the Centre of Social and Economic Research, Essex University, and Dr Roger Ingham, Director of the Centre of Sexual Health, Southampton University, concluded that women who had children when they were young were simply delaying a life of poorly paid work. They found that when teenage mothers were compared to young women from similar socio-economic backgrounds who had low ambition and had performed poorly at school, the difference in their life opportunities was negligible.
They also found that social stigma and disapproval often caused the very problems that resulted in a stigma, and suggested that depression was often not caused by the baby but by the way the mother was treated. Poor housing and a lack of support also made teenage mothers more vulnerable, they said.
There are many examples of groups having positive experiences with teenage mothers (see box), so what should Sure Start do to ensure that its services are reaching all groups, not just the most vulnerable?
Professor Melhuish says, 'There are various possibilities. Firstly, things could be left as they are for a few years, and teenage mums may come round gradually. It is highly likely that disadvantaged groups may learn from their neighbours and see the benefits for themselves.'
For Sure Start professionals he advises, 'Be patient and don't expect to reach all groups overnight. It takes time. Be more sensitive in how services are provided.'
Case study: The Families Matter Nursery
One group providing support for teenage mothers is the YMCA in Hornsey, north London. It recently set up The Families Matter Nursery for teenage mothers in the area.
Nursery manager Delores Isaac says, 'We work with young teenage mums. There were no nursery places for babies in the area, and most of the teenage mums did not want their children to go to a childminder. I spoke to my boss and he agreed to the idea of a nursery for the children of teenage mums.'
Because the mothers are either at school or college, the nursery is funded by the Care to Learn grant. It is open from 8am to 4.30pm 50 weeks a year and currently cares for six babies ranging in age from six weeks to 13 months, although it could cater for children aged up to three years. The nursery has proved so popular that the YMCA is opening another in Edmonton and there is interest in a similar project in Enfield, both also in north London.
As well as giving young mothers an opportunity to continue their education, the project is seen as helping to prevent secondary pregnancies. Teenage mothers are less likely to become pregnant again in their teenage years if they have a reason not to, such as something to aim for.
Delores says that, contrary to the popular view of teenage mothers as young girls happy to live on benefits long term, most of the teenagers she comes into contact with are keen to go back to education.
She admits that they can be difficult to engage with initially as they often feel that they are being looked down upon. But once they get involved, she says, their self-esteem and confidence improves.
