Teenage pregnancy 'significantly worse' than national average and is rising

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Teenage pregnancy is rife in Wigan and the borough is performing ‘significantly worse’ than the national average and has been rising since 2019, according to recent data.

Wigan Council statistics show that there have been 22 conceptions per 1,000 (adolescent girls aged 15-19), which is almost double the national average of 13.

The council has been working on ways to improve sexual health across the borough and brought about mixed results compared to the national picture.

The borough is doing better than the national average for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) but is performing ‘significantly worse’ than the national average on others, including; HIV testing coverage in specialist services, teenage pregnancy and LARC (long-acting reversible contraception) delivery. READ MORE: GMP officer found NOT GUILTY of sexually assaulting colleague “We are performing significantly worse (22.0 conceptions per 1,000) than the national average (13.0) in respect of teenage pregnancy,” a council report said. “Since 2019 there has also been a slight upward trend in teenage pregnancy rates in the borough, out of line with the national trend. “We are performing significantly worse than the national average in relation to a number of performance indicators relating to LARC, including the overall rate of LARC prescribed in the borough, and the rates prescribed in both primary care and specialist sexual healthcare services.” Wigan remains a low prevalence area for HIV but still is still performing badly for testing, the report went on to say.