TEENAGER Maddy Honeybone had aspirations of going to university to study journalism, when her whole world changed overnight.

An evening of passion left 18-year-old Maddy pregnant while she was still studying for her A-levels.

"I was at Tauntons College doing sociology, history and English Lit when I discovered I was pregnant.

"I found it really difficult when I made the discovery - I didn't know what I was going to do," she said.

While her parents were far from happy with the news, they still supported Maddy, now 28.

She said: "They were shocked and upset. At first I thought the hardest part would be telling my parents but then the realisation hit me.

"It's not just about telling them - it's about living with the reality for the rest of your life."

Her son Luke, 9, was born in 1997 and Maddy and boyfriend Nick now have a daughter too - Jade, 4. And Maddy now uses her experience as a teen mum to work with youngsters, visiting schools and youth groups.

"We tell them what it's really like - from the moment you discover you are pregnant, to having to tell your parents to how it affects your whole life.

"We show them the effect it has on friendships, where you live, how much you can earn and what it's like bringing up a baby on your own." Maddy and a group of teen mums set up the Sue Willis Project to try to prevent teenagers getting pregnant.

They have just moved to new premises at the Eastpoint Centre in Burgoyne Road, Thornhill and have made a few other changes too.

"We have become a charity and changed our name to Reality," she added.

The latest Department of Health figures, covering the 2001-3 period, show there were 675 teenage pregnancies at the rate of 63.8 per 1,000 girls in Southampton.

But the city is an exception.

Elsewhere in Hampshire, the figures show the region is well below the national average for the number of teenage girls having babies.

In the Winchester district, for example, there were just 130 teenage girls falling pregnant in the two years up to 2003, with a rate of roughly 22.6 girls aged 15 to 17 falling pregnant per 1,000.

In Fareham the numbers were 155, or 25 girls in 1,000, while in Eastleigh there were 174 pregnancies at a rate of 26.1 girls in 1,000.

The New Forest came second to last in the regional figures, with 272 births at a rate of 31.5 girls in 1,000.

Experts point out that the health problems associated with young pregnancy can combine with wider social issues.

For example, a teen mum can feel excluded from society as the rest of her peers do the things they want to do but she cannot because of the responsibility of parenthood.

Further, these figures are also an indicator of the success of sex education, or a lack of it.

Roger Street, manager of the Hampshire Teenage Pregnancy Strategy said: "The problem goes beyond that of social exclusion for young parents and their children and the physical fact that under 18s have a much higher rate of infant mortality in terms of stillbirths and miscarriages."

He said teenage mums are also less likely to breastfeed, which is important for the child in helping to build up immunity to diseases in later life.

They are also far less likely to continue their education, which can affect employment chances and reduce their aspirations.

For communities the impact can be disastrous. With more people relying on benefits and support, neighbourhoods come to rely more on outside help rather than become self-sustaining.

The Hampshire Teenage Pregnancy Strategy helps to break this cycle by addressing these issues.

For example, it helps promote better sex education for youngsters, covering all aspects of sexuality.

Mr Street said: "Young people still say they don't receive enough sex education - which must be the first time in history teenagers have complained about not getting enough schooling!"

The Partnership also helps support parents of teenagers, with facilities like Parentline Plus set up to offer advice on how to discuss sex with youngsters as well as give advice on sexual health.

Much work has also been done by the partnership in ensuring easy access to services for teenagers - whether that be free condoms or birth control advice.

And they have been instrumental in working with colleges to enable more pregnant teenagers to get back into education and continue their studies during pregnancy and after the birth.

Mr Street added: "There is a close link between deprivation and higher levels of teenage pregnancy.

"But, if you are being more successful in keeping young people more involved in their education and attaining good results, then the pregnancy rates drop.

"It is an indication that better education is an important element, but it is not a solution."

And the good news is that across Hampshire this investment in education appears to be working. Compared to the figures for 2001-3, almost all our regions have seen falls in the number of teenagers falling pregnant.

In Eastleigh the figures for 1996-98 were 31.2 girls in 1,000 aged 15-17, in Fareham they were 32.8 and in Winchester it was 24.6.