Ever wondered why, in these days when information on sex and sexual activity is more readily available than it has ever been and where condoms are also readily available and inexpensive that teenage girls are still falling pregnant accidentally at such a consistent rate.

Well the obvious reason is that a good number of them actually want to get pregnant and research by Dr. Susan Davies of the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s School of Public Health supports this view. Whilst the conception is accidental, the desire the become pregnant means that risk taking is a more common occurance, incidents of unprotected sex being more common amongst this group.

Interestingly the male who is so obligingly providing the sperm in these instances is usually at least 5 years older than the girl. The researchers suggest this points to the

perceived role of the male partner in parenthood, other than to assist with conception, may be minimal from the adolescent girl’s perspective.

This of course simply reflects the parenting experience of many of these girls with single parent (mother only) families becoming increasingly more common in western societies.

The outcomes of this research provide pointers to new directions in health education amongst this group. Education based on the assumption that the girls view pregancy as undesirable and something that they will avoid if they know how misses the point. Education must also be provided to these girls on the implications on their lives of a decision of this nature.

Who is best to give this education? Teachers? Parents? Nope you are wrong on both counts. Research by Dr Judith Stephenson, from the Centre for Sexual Health and HIV Research at University College London has shown that peers are the ones who adolescents listen to.

The survey of 8,000 teenagers, who had formal lessons about sex from either other pupils or their teachers, revealed that pupil-led classes helped pupils develop better attitudes to sex.

This is, in part, because many of the teachers assigned to this most delicate area of education, are immensely embarrassed by the subject themselves. Michael Reiss, a leading specialist in sex education at the Institute of Education agrees. He says

Most teachers are not specialists in teaching people about sex. It's one of the few subjects where this is the case. You're usually taught history by someone with a history degree and training. If you get taught sex education you're lucky if your teacher has had 20 hours.

Although by way of counter argument The Green Man notes that all of the History students he knew at University spent at least as much time on sex as they did on History during their undergraduate years.

The Green Man is also somewhat intrigued by Dr Judith's concept of "role plays" when it comes to sex education. hmmmmmm No wonder the peer lead sessions are embraced so enthusiastically.

Biologically, of course, late adolescent girls are built to become pregant and their biology is facilitating this course of action. Sadly, for those who are disadvantaged, having a child is one of the few rewarding and fulfilling options that are available to them.

Read more on Dr. Susan's research here.
Read more on Dr Judith's here.