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Sensible attitude to sex drives Dutch teen pregnancy rate to record lowThursday 16 August 2012 Just 2,365 girls under the age of 20 had a baby in the Netherlands last year, the lowest figure ever, according to new figures from the national statistics office CBS. This means fewer than five teenage girls in every 1,000 became a mother last year. Forty years ago, the figure was four times higher. Girls with an Antillian background are much more likely than others to have a baby while still a teenager but this figure drops sharply for second generation Caribbean immigrants, the CBS said. The Netherlands has one of the lowest teenage birthrates in the world, a fact which is widely attributed to its open attitude to information about sexuality and contraception. Most parents are also happy for their teenage children to sleep with a partner in the family home. Surveys show the majority of Dutch teenagers have sex for the first time around their 17th birthday, usually with a steady partner. They almost always use contraception. Teen pregnancy rate low in sleepover country of the Netherlands. Have the Dutch got it right about teenage sex? Have your say using the comment form below. © DutchNews.nl
Education and openness always win over prohibition. I wish the Dutch authorities had the same approach for the alcohol, tobacco and drugs. By George | August 16, 2012 12:44 PM I wonder how many of the 28,000 are Dutch Nationals and how many are teenagers. It is a shame that sex is still such a taboo in the UK. They really do need to cut the teenage pregnancy rate, all you see in some streets is children pushing children in pushchairs. By Chezzie | August 16, 2012 3:53 PM I think the results speak for themselves. In countries where abstinence is preached, or myths are believed, or a 'hope for the best' attitude is adopted, the teen pregnancy rates are high and rising. Also, Dutch women don't take a diminutive role in relationships. ''No condom? no chance! Here's your coat and find your own way home''. For this to work, it would mean a major cultural change in just about every other country in the world. By osita | August 16, 2012 5:08 PM The word "most" is highly ambiguous. Which data is being used to support this? The other issue that needs to be addressed that I see in the Dutch teenagers that I teach is the flippant attitude towards sex. From what I see few are concerned with commitment, they just want to get some. Sex becomes an act of conquest rather than an act of communicating love. I'm all for putting love and commitment back into sex. By D. Haak | August 16, 2012 5:20 PM Reading this makes me so proud to be Dutch and that will never change. By Annemiekea-Baars Oude Bekke | August 16, 2012 8:43 PM D. Haak said: "The other issue that needs to be addressed that I see in the Dutch teenagers that I teach is the flippant attitude towards sex. From what I see few are concerned with commitment, they just want to get some. Sex becomes an act of conquest rather than an act of communicating love. I'm all for putting love and commitment back into sex." Amen to that. By Martin | August 17, 2012 12:48 AM D. Haak and Martin: You go ahead and do that. How exactly do you impose that on others in a free society? Apparently preaching and enforcing "rules" don't work... By CW | August 17, 2012 11:05 AM "Pregnancy rate" is probably misleading, how many girls got pregnant and then had abortions? I don't think that's something to be proud of. By DI | August 17, 2012 3:19 PM Teens don't 'save themselves' for true love? It's nice to see that some things never change - it was the same in my teen years (80s) and my parents (60s). That's what the teenager years are FOR, to practice relationships before they get serious and committed. Yes! Put sex with love on the curriculum. But recognise that this the knowledge that 'great' sex only comes with love is a lesson they will only find out through personal experience - as we all did. For a teen, 'any' sex is usually good enough. At least the Dutch teenagers have the sense to protect themselves though this normal phase of child-to-adult development. By osita | August 17, 2012 5:21 PM I applaud the openness of attitudes concerning sexual matters in Holland. While living there, I saw nothing embarrassing or prudish about sex, only that it was treated as any other body function. I was especially glad to see that sex education is not frowned on as in USA, and is not a belief that by knowing about sex they will do it. THEY DO IT all over the world...so any correct information about contraception and pregnancy and STD's is good to have, not keep a secret. By barbara | August 17, 2012 5:48 PM the Dutch teens dont have 'enough incentive' to get pregnant...there are no benefits for the baby.The money one would get here for the baby is too little and seems to be the deterrent. Look at the UK and huge amounts they get for having babies. By mt | August 19, 2012 9:11 AM We need more babies, our birthrate is so low that our culture is in rapid decline. By phil | August 19, 2012 4:10 PM How exactly is "your" culture in rapid decline, Phil? And what are you personally doing to raise the birthrate? By CW | August 20, 2012 9:45 AM
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On the other hand... per year 28 thousand women look for a clinic to have an abort.
"Jaarlijks laten ongeveer 28 duizend in Nederland wonende vrouwen een abortus verrichten. Dit aantal is in het afgelopen decennium maar weinig veranderd."http://www.cbs.nl/nl-NL/menu/themas/bevolking/publicaties/artikelen/archief/2011/2011-3322-wm.htm
By Ezter | August 16, 2012 12:14 PM