SOUTHAMPTON has the highest number of teen pregnancies in the south east but a major initiative could see the figures fall. Kate Thompson talks to Thabang Thacker, the city's teenage pregnancy co-ordinator...

SOUTHAMPTON based companies are being targeted in a major move to reduce the number of young girls who fall pregnant each year.

Despite national campaigns to reduce the number of girls having babies before the age of 19, the level in Southampton has continued to rise and now Teenage Pregnancy Co-ordinator Thabang Thacker has issued a challenge to the city.

She wants to see everyone working together to help young girls see they have options for the future other than motherhood.

Figures dating back to 2001 show 6.4 per cent of under-18-year-olds are pregnant at any one time in Southampton - but Thabang is optimistic that significant changes can be made.

"The teenage pregnancy board was established in Southampton about a year ago and since that time we have been working together to reduce the rate of teenage births in the city.

"There are representatives from health, the city council, community and voluntary sectors on the board and since we started we have raised the profile of teenage pregnancy as an issue in the city," she said.

In its latest move, the board now wants to encourage Southampton firms to come on board with a city-wide approach.

"If we all work together I am sure we can achieve great things. We have to be able to offer these young girls an alternative and local businesses can play their part. We would like them to work with us talking to young people about their future," she said.

"Typically girls who fall pregnant at a young age are unaware of the options they have - they may be suffering from low self-esteem and can see no clear future.

"If local businesses came on board with us we could show these girls that they do have options."

Experts claim there are three main reasons why young girls still fall pregnant despite the availability of contraception.

Typically they have:

Low self-esteem and no real career ambition

Little idea about contraception and sexually-transmitted diseases

Confusion due to mixed messages

Said Thabang: "Young people are bombarded with images from the music industry showing them as sexy people but at the same time they are being told they are too young.

"Young people are desperate for more information and they long to know more about sex and pregnancy. We want to make that information available to young people."

She is working closely with city schools, youth groups and organisations such as No Limits to reach as many young girls as possible.

"We have to listen to young people and understand their needs because they are growing up in a very different environment to the one we knew as children.

"I believe in young people and I am a strong advocate for young people's rights.

"We need to think how we can invest in our young people across the city," she said.

To find out more about the work of the Teenage Pregnancy Board or to get involved in the new initiative contact Thabang Thacker on 023 8051 5210.