Researchers examined what could be learned about fathers' roles by interviewing young couples who were committed to each other and their baby. Many men were very enthusiastic about fatherhood, grasped the opportunity to consolidate their relationship with their partner, and developed a positive identity as a young father – although many felt marginalized by maternity services.
Source: Nicola Ross, Stephanie Church, Malcolm Hill, Peter Seaman and Tom Roberts, Young Fathers and their Experiences of Forming Families, Centre for Research on Families and Relationships/University of Edinburgh
Links: Briefing
Date: 2009-Dec
A report (by an official advisory body) said that more accessible contraception and sexual health services were needed in order to reduce teenage pregnancies. It called for more sexual health clinics within schools, and more evening and weekend contraception sessions at community health centres.
Source: Annual Report 2008/09, Independent Advisory Group on Teenage Pregnancy
Links: Report | DCSF press release | Children & Young People Now report
Date: 2009-Dec
An article examined the impact on teenage pregnancy of interventions that addressed the social disadvantage associated with early parenthood. There was a 'small but reliable' evidence base supporting the effectiveness and appropriateness of early childhood interventions and youth development programmes for reducing unintended teenage pregnancy.
Source: Angela Harden, Ginny Brunton, Adam Fletcher and Ann Oakley, 'Teenage pregnancy and social disadvantage: systematic review integrating controlled trials and qualitative studies', British Medical Journal, 12 November 2009
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Nov
A report evaluated the Nurse-Family Partnership programme, which provided intensive support for vulnerable first-time young mothers and their families.
Source: Jacqueline Barnes et al., Nurse-Family Partnership Programme: Second Year Pilot Sites Implementation in England – The Infancy Period, Research Report RR166, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report | DCSF press release
Date: 2009-Sep
The Prime Minister announced a plan under which all young parents aged 16-17 in receipt of state support would be placed in a network of supervised homes. He said that these shared homes would offer a 'new start in life' where people could learn responsibility and how to raise their children properly.
Source: Speech by Gordon Brown MP (Prime Minister), 29 September 2009
Links: Text of speech | YWCA press release | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | Inside Housing report | Community Care report
Date: 2009-Sep
A new book examined who was likely to have a baby as a teenager, the consequences of early motherhood, and how teenage pregnancy was dealt with in the media. Society's negative attitude to young mothers was likely to marginalize an already excluded group, and efforts should be focused primarily on supporting young mothers and their children.
Source: Lisa Arai, Teenage Pregnancy: The making and unmaking of a problem, Policy Press, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: Summary
Date: 2009-Jul
An article examined discrepancies between different accounts of teenage motherhood. The government's teenage pregnancy strategy portrayed young motherhood as problematic, and the cause of poor outcomes: on the other hand, qualitative researchers had demonstrated that early motherhood could be experienced positively.
Source: Lisa Arai, 'What a difference a decade makes: rethinking teenage pregnancy as a problem', Social Policy and Society, Volume 8 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Apr
A report called for a radical overhaul of common assumptions and attitudes about teenage families, and a much more positive approach to supporting them – focusing not on their problems but on their hopes for themselves and for their children.
Source: Gerard Lemos, Freedom's Consequences: Reducing teenage pregnancies and their negative effects in the UK, Lemos&Crane (020 8348 8263)
Links: Report
Date: 2009-Feb