The Central Statistics Office have revealed that there has been a major decrease in the number of Irish pregnancies.

 

They confirmed that the number of births to teenagers fell from 1,098 in 2016, to 1,041 in 2017.

 

They added that there has been a major decrease in teenage pregnancies since 2001, with the HSE Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme revealing that there was a 66 percent fall in teenage births.

 

 

Speaking of the new figures, Helen Deely, who is the programme lead with the SHCPP said that there has been a huge change in society, mainly due to stronger sex education in schools.

 

"More teenagers than in the past are receiving relationships and sexuality education in schools and youth-work settings, and the majority of teenagers who are sexually active report 'always' using contraception."


It is understood that most teenagers in Ireland have sex for the first time between the ages of 17 and 19.

 

 

However, she believes that parents need to be more informative and open: “There is more work to be done to ensure that young people have the information they need."

 

"We believe that parents’ role in sexuality education needs to be strengthened and more parents supported to provide relationships and sexuality education to their children throughout their lives," she continued.

 

She understands that some parents may feel uncomfortable talking to their children about sex, but they have a major influence on their kids so it is important that they have that discussion with them.

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