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INTRODUCTION
dolescent pregnancy occurs in all societies but the level of teenage pregnancy and childbearing
varies from country to country. The level of adolescent pregnancy varies by a factor of almost
10 across the developed countries, from a very low rate in the Netherlands (12 pregnancies per
1,000 adolescents per year) to an extremely high rate in the Russian Federation (more than 100 per
1,000). The United States had one of the highest adolescent pregnancy rates in the mid 1990s as it did
in the early 1980s. Japan and most western European countries have very low or low pregnancy rates
(under 40 per 1,000) (Singh and Darroch , 2000)
UK has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in Europe. Wainwright et al. (2000) stated that every
year in the UK there are 90.000 teenage conceptions, and of those around 7700 are girls under 16 and
2200 girls aged 14 and under. The above figures show that teenage pregnancy is a very significant
national issue that needs to be tackled urgently as it seems that the rate of teenage pregnais
increasing in an alarming way.
Lawlor and Shaw (2004) said that although in some other European countries it seems that the
number of teenage pregnancies has decreased, there are a considerable number of adolescents who
choose to terminate an unintended pregnancy as the clinics that offer termination services can be
easily accessed by teenagers. Greece has one of the highest abortion rates in Europe and a very low
prevalence of contraceptive use apart from withdrawal and condoms. Sex education is not included in
the school curriculum, the lack of accurate information on contraception and the prevention of
unwanted pregnancy, especially in adolescence, have critical repercussions for women’s life choices.
(Ioannidi‐Kapolou ,2004)
As, has been shown (Jolley 2001) from statistics, in the last decades teenagers became sexually active
at an earlier stage than they used to and almost one third of 15‐16 year old adolescents have already
experienced sexual intercourse. As Creatsas (1993) explained, adolescents develop biological
maturity earlier than in past generations although they often do not reach psychosocial maturity and
economic independence until later. Adolescence is the stage in their lives where many of them have
difficulties in adjusting to life and dealing with their sexuality. Therefore, it is obvious that there is a
need for more information regarding safe sex which will not only educate them about how to avoid an unwanted pregnancy but also will prepare them to know how to be protected from Sexually
Transmitted Infections and especially HIV that is in rise the last years (Jolley 2001).
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