Consultation on the Pregnancy and Parenthood in Young People Strategy: Analysis of Responses

7. Additional Issues and Good Practice

Question 16: Is there anything else you would like us to consider in the final version of the Strategy?

Thirty-seven respondents identified additional issues or issues which they felt merited more attention in the final version of the Strategy.

Ensuring all young people are covered by the Strategy

Five respondents across three different respondent categories recommended that the target age range for the Strategy be clearer, evidence-based and consistent throughout. Comments included:

“We would welcome a clear and consistent statement on the target age of this document” (YouthLink Scotland).

“The strategy would benefit by providing more clarity regarding the age category: there should be some way to differentiate between young people aged 19 and under, from young people who are between 20 and 26 years old” (Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland).

One respondent (Third) emphasised the need for the Strategy to encompass support for young people no longer at school or school-based education.

A Third Sector respondent suggested that focusing on engagement with young parents who are in prison could reap benefits in terms of parenthood providing them with a reason to desist from further offending.

Overarching strategic content of the Strategy document

Two NHS respondents and one from the Third Sector called for the Strategy to set out its aims more clearly and at the start. One respondent (Third) recommended the inclusion of a clear statement of the Strategy’s values which could then be taken forward into the remit of CPPs. An NHS respondent requested that the Strategy provide a clearer outline or statement on inequalities, which they considered emerged at various points in the current document, but would benefit from being consolidated into one section.

Two NHS respondents asked for more guidance on the implementation of the actions. One respondent (NHS) felt that further detail should be provided on the reporting and enforcement processes linked to the Strategy.

Calls were made for the Strategy to be more explicit in outlining its links with other legislation and policy (Third) and in clarifying the links to the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Framework (Joint). One respondent (Third) suggested making clearer links with work on Child Sexual Exploitation, and emphasised the need for messages in the Strategy to be consistent with the guidance provided for medical practitioners on this issue.

Two respondents (both Joint) recommended more detail on the accountability and governance approaches outlined in the Strategy. Another (Joint) request was made for further detail on the measurement of outcomes.

One view (Third) was that the Strategy would benefit from adopting a rights-based approach to young parenthood and pregnancy with more explicit reference to The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Addressing gaps in target groups

Five respondents all from different respondent categories shared the view that the role of the father is not adequately covered in the draft Strategy. Calls were made for more actions focusing on young men, particularly those who are looked after or at risk of entering the youth justice system or are already in the criminal justice system.

Three respondents from different categories considered that the Strategy should address the parents of young people at risk of teenage pregnancy and provide them with relevant and advice and support. One respondent (Third) identified foster and kinship carers as warranting more consideration in the Strategy, by virtue of their potential to provide high quality information to those they look after.

One respondent (Third) urged that the Strategy pay more attention to the needs of the most marginalised and vulnerable young parents, for example, those with children already in care and who are themselves involved with child protection services. An academic respondent recommended that the Strategy include more detail on how the particular needs of looked after children and care leavers can be tackled.

Role of wider “influencers”

A recurring theme was the potential role for peer support as a model for provision of information to young people and the need for the Strategy to reflect this. Examples were provided of trained peer support initiatives including a Peer Mentor scheme involving mentors who have been young parents themselves. One respondent (Third) considered that such a scheme would be particularly helpful to communicate messages on breastfeeding:

“... the importance and value of peer support has been highlighted by the young people consulted and this could be better reflected within the strategy itself. Inclusion of trained peer support/embedding health skills in peer role models should be included at the beginning of the logic model to extend youth friendly activity into realistically accessible outcomes. This could specifically mention infant feeding peer support. The benefits of offering accredited peer support training to young mothers to support and empower them to develop the skills and confidence to support other young parents could also be included” (The Breastfeeding Network).

One respondent (Joint) suggested there could be benefits from empowering young people to design, develop and run websites which provided relevant information to their peers.

Some respondents identified threats stemming from media portrayal of young people and recommended that the Strategy make specific reference to sexualisation of young people and the potential impacts of pornography.

A few NHS respondents highlighted the need for the Strategy to make explicit that local authority staff working in community settings, and already maintaining positive relationships with young people, could have a key role in raising awareness of local sexual health services. One respondent (NHS) recommended that the Strategy include more detail on the competencies of the wider workforce in relation to delivering the Strategy.

A call was made (Prof Rep) for the Strategy to support all secondary schools in providing professional, qualified counselling services for young people, with alternative community-based provision also available.

Acknowledgement of planned pregnancies

A few respondents (NHS, Ind) felt that the Strategy tended to portray pregnancies amongst young people in a negative light, rather than acknowledging that some are planned (e.g. religious beliefs may support starting families at a young age) and some young people may not need significant support.

Other suggestions

Other suggestions for inclusion in the final version of the Strategy included:

• More explicit information on support for young people with mental health problems including the role of organisations such as Community Attitudes Towards Mental Illness (NHS).
• Addressing issues of rurality and the implications for delivery of parenting programmes and sexual health services in rural areas (Joint, Third).
• Resource implications of the Strategy and how any additional funding and staffing requirements will be met (Joint, Third).
• More detail on the impact of the young person’s and parental substance abuse. This information was viewed as important in helping Alcohol and Drug Partnerships to contribute to the actions (NHS).
• Greater exploration of the reasons for the fall in pregnancy rate and in particular the co-incidence with the rise in utilisation of LARC (Acad). Another respondent (NHS) recommended raising awareness of LARC amongst professionals who come into contact with young people in contexts relating to housing and welfare rights, in order to encourage greater use amongst those at risk of early sexual activity.
• Greater coverage of tackling the fundamental causes of pregnancy and parenthood in young people, including socio-economic factors (Acad).