The teenage mother is not a “prophet of doom”

With teenage pregnancy at its lowest rate for over 40 years, a Teesside University academic is challenging the popular stereotype of the teenager mother.

Dr Lisa Arai, a Senior Lecturer in Research Methods in the School of Health & Social Care, said that far from being “prophets of doom” as teenage mothers are often depicted, the majority of teenage mothers enjoy motherhood and their lives do not change drastically as a result of having a baby.

New data has shown that the teenage pregnancy rate has fallen to its lowest level since 1969. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show conceptions in under-18s fell to 34,633 in 2010 compared with 38,259 in 2009, a drop of 9.5%.

Pregnancies in under-16s also went down by 6.8% to 6,674 in total from 7,158 the previous year.

Dr Arai, who has published a book “Teenage Pregnancy: The Making and Unmaking of a Problem”, believes that more needs to be done to challenge the stereotype of teenage mothers.

She appeared on BBC Radio 4 on Monday 19 March in a programme titled The Teenage Pregnancy Myth. Presented by Miranda Sawyer, the programme heard from leading social scientists who argue that public policy has ignored evidence which shows that far from shattered lives and blighted futures, teenage mothers and their children can and do lead happy, healthy lives.

A steady fall Dr Arai said: 'Overall the teenage fertility rate has been steadily falling since the 1970’s and contrary to popular belief, we just don’t have a teenage pregnancy crisis in this country. The media depiction of an epidemic of teenage motherhood is not justified.

'The teenage mother is portrayed as a prophet of doom who symbolises everything that is wrong within our society. But one thing that strikes me when I have interviewed teenage mothers is how happy they are and how much they enjoy motherhood. Their lives are actually affected very little by having a baby and they see motherhood as a happy and rewarding experience.'

Dr Arai suggests that Government policy has always been anti-teenage pregnancy and she believes that evidence is often “cherry-picked” to suit the agenda.

'Teenage motherhood is perceived to be expensive to the state,” said Dr Arai.

'It is suggested that teenagers are less likely to work and pay taxes if they have children. But in fact, the issue of teenage pregnancy is linked far more to social exclusion. Teenagers from socially deprived backgrounds are less likely to work and pay taxes anyway and having a baby does not change that very much or alter the trajectory of their lives.

'Working class teenagers’ lives are much more affected by education and opportunity. If women feel there are opportunities available to them, they will stay in education and work hard. The age of the mother is not that significant.'

Changing the stereotype Dr Arai believes that despite a steady fall in the teenage fertility rate since the 1970’s, and conception being at its lowest since 1969, there is still a lot of misinformation and misguided opinion on teenage pregnancy.

She added: 'If I stop and ask people in the street what percentage of teenagers fall pregnant under the age of 20, the majority of people guess about 50%, when in fact it is more like 5% or 6%. We don’t have a teenage pregnancy epidemic and the numbers are actually very small.

'The challenge is in changing the stereotype of teenage mothers and making people realise that teenage pregnancy is not a burden on society and not a huge problem in this country and that motherhood can be enjoyed regardless of maternal age.'

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