THE rate of teenagers giving birth in Ballarat has dropped to its lowest in five years.
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Latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures reveal 14.3 teenagers per 1000, aged 15 to 19, gave birth in 2015, down from 17.2 teenagers a year earlier.
Mildura (21.1) had the highest rate of teenage births in country Victoria, Geelong (9.8) had the lowest and Ballarat ranked right in the middle.
Young parents program founder Peter Innes said the focus should be on opportunity and community support for all teenage mums rather than figures.
Mr Innes said well-known community worker Father Bob would say the key was a four-letter word: hope.
“It’s positive attitude, positive outcomes and forging partnerships under the concept of a whole of community approach,” Mr Innes said. “It’s all about being a positive strength, seeing the need and a way to come to school.”
The young parents program, now part of Yuille Park Community College, has been running in Ballarat for 11 years. Mr Innes said young parents were engaged in studying TAFE or VCAL qualifications.
He said Yuille Park principal Clete Paige was a strong support in offering that hope.
Rates of teenage births in country Queensland and rural Northern Territory were almost five-times greater than in Ballarat in 2015. The rate is far higher in Indigenous communities.
Yet the teenage birthrate in Melbourne remained significantly lower than Ballarat, with 5.9 births per 1000.
There were 1780 babies born in Ballarat in 2015, according to the ABS.
Most Ballarat mothers were aged between 30 and 34 in the five years to 2015 and the average age of Ballarat women giving birth has consistently been 30 years old.
Teenage mums still had the lowest birthrate across all age groups for Ballarat women, excepting those aged between 45-49.
Ballarat’s overall fertility rate (women giving birth) was the second lowest in country Victoria, at 1.97 women per 1000 women in 2015, with only Geelong lower at a rate of 1.95. Shepparton had the highest birthrate in the state at 2.32.
- with Bendigo Advertiser