NZ high in world teen birth rates

By FRANCESCA MOLD health reporter

New Zealand has the second highest teenage birth rate among developed countries, with young Maori women five times more likely to have a baby than Europeans, according to new research.

A New Zealand Medical Journal study has also found that Maori teenagers were three times more likely to get pregnant than non-Maori.

Abortion rates among Maori were slightly higher than Pakeha overall because of their higher pregnancy rate, but only a quarter of teenage Maori women chose that option.

Almost one-half of teenage Pakeha pregnancies end in abortion.

The research showed that Pacific teenagers were twice as likely as European New Zealanders to become pregnant and three times more likely to give birth.

The study, led by Dr Nigel Dickson of the University of Otago Medical School, found that of the developed OECD countries, only the United States had a higher teenage birth rate than New Zealand.

However, a major component of this statistic was the very high rate among Maori and Pacific teenagers - the birth rate of Pakeha was similar to Australia and Canada and less than the "white" population of Britain and the US.

The report found that in 1997, there were 4403 live births and 2962 abortions to women aged under 20 years. The teenage birth rate was 33.4 per 1000 and the abortion rate 22.4 per 1000.

The research said Maori children had poorer health status, higher rates of abuse, poorer educational achievement and in later years, higher rates of imprisonment. In similar studies in the US, all these factors also related to being born to a teenage mother.

"If a similar relationship exists here, delaying pregnancy among teenage women and ensuring they have educational and employment opportunities could be an important strategy to break the cycle of disadvantage for many Maori women and subsequently improve the health of Maori children," the report said.

Plunket's national Maori coordinator, Becky Fox, said the figures were not new but she agreed there were concerns about support for Maori teenage mothers.

"When I was at school, a number of my friends had children while they were teenagers. But they went on, in their 30s, to educate themselves and contribute to society in a very positive and meaningful way."

Ms Fox said Maori women years ago had more support from extended family, including grandparents, when they became teenage parents. Much of that support was no longer available, as grandparents were having to work much later in life to support their families.

She said it was also much harder for women to break free from the welfare system, because they were constantly having to repay debt and were unable to access a free education.

"It is vital these young women are supported and their fight for education and employment is not blocked," she said.

"They have a lot of wonderful skills to share but many never get the chance. The babies must not be held to blame either, it is not their fault. They are a taonga, a gift, not a burden."