“Are you my sister, Mummy?”

Early studies on teenage pregnancy

Are you My Sister, Mummy? –ISBN 1 870717 02 3

A longitudinal study of 200 school age mums (2^nd edition, first published 1987) the first comprehensive description of the subject in Britain.  262 pages containing statistics, case studies, questions and answers.

This first survey provided an important database regarding pregnant schoolgirls and their circumstances. It was a vital piece of work since previously available information had dealt with American groups whose population was not comparable in any demographic or social sense. We needed information on our own population to examine the factors, risks and social stresses of the environment pertinent to British teenagers.

An information base was important in terms of understanding factors which led to early pregnancy and childbearing - what motivated young people, what the family’s influence might be and how we might intervene to help at any stage. Most important - what were the problems?  It is not sufficient to pose the question - how do we reduce teenage pregnancies? This presupposes that all teenage pregnancies are unwanted and problematic - clearly this is not the case and even in the early survey years it was quite obvious that even for the very young schoolgirl mothers there were reasons and needs for pregnancy not all of which were undesirable.

Contact was made with every school girl who became pregnant in a specific geographical area - covered by a London Health District. All school girls falling pregnant and who by intent or by default continued their pregnancies within a time limit were included - addition to the group began in 1980 and ceased in 1987. The first 126 cases were analysed as an MD thesis; 150 were included in the book; 174 entered long term study.

The initial piece of research involved a number of stages :-

• base line information gathering during the pregnancy

•  data regarding the birth itself

•  six week follow up

•  six month follow up

•  one year follow up

•  two year follow up

Britain continues to have the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Europe. We have not yet learned the lessons of poor sexual education outlined in "Are you my sister, Mummy?" The ‘culture of poverty’ continues ...