From 74 in 2008 to 31 in 2011: teenage pregnancies on their way down

A parliamentary select committee set to discuss teenage pregnancies lacked the presence of the majority of its members.

The committee, chaired by government MP Jean Pierre Farrugia, includes PN MPs Charlo Bonnici and Jesmond Mugliett and Labour MP Marie Louise Coleiro Preca and Justyne Caruana.

However, both Coleiro Preca and Caruana reported to the committee's secretary that they couldn't attend this evening's meeting. Mugliett also failed to turn up and was replaced by Nationalist MP Frederick Azzopardi.

The Opposition side was represented by Carmelo Abela.

Addressing the committee were Micheline Sciberras, responsible for the management of the Directorate for Educational Services and Sandra Cortis, service manager for the Education Psyco-Social Services.

According to information provided by Sciberras, the rate of teenage pregnancies - young mothers aged 16 and below - has decreased over the past four years.

In fact, while in 2008 there were 74 pregnancies reported to young mothers, the figure went down to 31 in 2011. The rate so far for 2012 stands at 27.

In cases of girls aged 16 and over, in 2008 there were 117 down to 64 in 2011. So far in 2012, 34 babies were born to young mothers falling in this age group.

Sciberras said that the majority of girls who become mothers at the age of 16 or younger are more reluctant to get back to school.

Cortis said it was important that the girls gain their independences and are empowered.

"There's a vicious circle where girls coming from a certain level of society, where they see their parents or relatives living on social services, the young mother is usually reluctant to continue studying or get back to work," she said.

Sciberras argued that it was important not to generalise, however one couldn't run away from the reality that there are children brought up living in a "culture of relief".

"It becomes entrenched in their mentality and way of living that they'd want to get a home from the Housing Authority and would want to live on benefits," she said.

Sciberras said that there were young mothers who see the birth of their child as "finally having something good which is theirs". She said that these girls would have had a difficult upbringing and the birth of their child would be of solace to them.

Sciberras said that in Malta there were many young people - both male and female - aged 14 who were sexually active and therefore schools were now providing adequate information and services to reflect this reality.

She lauded the Foundation for Social Welfare Services for the improved support and work it has been providing over the past five years.

Sciberras acknowledged that the number of unknown fathers was decreasing in these cases. She said the Ghozza support unit - the educational support service for unmarried pregnant minors - gave a lot of importance to the family unit, composed by the mother, father and the baby.

"We encourage the young father to be active and participative even during the pregnancy," she said.

Jean Pierre Farrugia pointed out that the use of contraceptives was not only important to avoid pregnancies - which he said the best solution would be abstinence - but also for the protection of one's health.

Cortis said in 2010 there had been a case where a teenager had her first baby when she was 13 and a second one when she was 15. She added that this girl had failed to attend the courses provided by the educational services and added that these were "rare cases".

At one point, the discussion turned towards the heavy backpacks which students had to carry every day. Carmelo Abela said it was important that teachers take on the responsibility to see that students do not have to carry heavy books which they wouldn't use in class every time.

On teenage pregnancies, Abela insisted it was important to tackle culture issues and strengthen sex education in schools.

"It's important that young people understand the responsibilities of their actions. Young people today experiment with a lot of things and sexual education must be strengthened," he said.

Sciberras said that current services must be improved to reflect today's realities and also the possibility to cater these services according to the needs of the individual.

"It would be a dream to say 'we have no teenage pregnancies'. But this is impossible because there have always been and there will always be. The important thing is, while always working in favour of prevention, to be able to help the young mother accept this new life," she said.

Nearing the end of the committee, Farrugia noted that a culture against abortion should never be taken for granted: "It's a culture we work to strengthen every day and it cannot be taken for granted."