Rise in teen pregnancies

WOMEN in the City of Hobsons Bay reported some of the highest teenage fertility rates in the western metro region according to a leading health provider.
Women’s Health West (WHW), a regional women’s health service that has operated in Footscray for the past 25 years, said the teenage fertility rate in Hobsons Bay for 2008 was higher than that for the western metropolitan region, 10.0 per 1000 teenage women.
WHW health promotion worker Anna Vu said although the figures were higher than for the western metro region they were 0.6 per cent less that the Victoria state average.
“Melton and Maribynong reported the highest teenage fertility rates for the western region, at 14.1 per 1000 teenage women and 13.2 per 1000 teenage women respectively,” Ms Vu said.
The statistics reveal that less than half, 38.5 per cent, of the sexually active adolescents in Hobsons Bay practise safe sex with a condom-the lowest proportion reported for the West Metropolitan Region.
The proportion of young women in Hobsons Bay who are using contraceptive to avoid pregnancy (76.6 per cent) is lower than the Victorian state level of 78.9 per cent.
In 2011, there were 267 notifications of Chlamydia, this is an increase of 31.5 per cent over the three years from 2009-2011.
Ms Vu said there had been a slight increase of 0.3 per cent from 2007 to 2008, but the overall rates of teenage pregnancy in Hobsons Bay showed a decreasing trend.
Over a four-year period from 2005-2008, the rate of teenage pregnancy was at its highest in 2006 with 13.6 per 1000 teenage women and 36 live births to 10.0 women to 1000 teenage women and 26 live births.

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