pregnancyIt’s not the statistic most want to be in, but the Porcupine Health Unit says our region ranks right at the top when it comes to teen pregnancy in Ontario.

In fact, our region was the only one to rank over 6% for every 1,000 women.

To break down the numbers, for every 1,000 teenagers, 64.2 of you will end up pregnant before your 20th birthday, according to data from 2009.

Public Health Nurse Laurie Dagg-Labine took the lead in this study, and says the numbers are nothing new to them.  The study was more to look at why the numbers are the way they are, as this region has barely moved up or down on the issue in the last decade.

The numbers between 2003 and 2010 determined that local teens delivered 3-4 times more than the provincial average.

She says things like income, education levels and even cultural influences play a part.

Read the full report HERE.

Dagg-Labine also says the recent changes to Ontario’s sexual education curriculum is a good thing, as it will help young people learn about contraception and decision-making.

She adds it is just a piece in a much bigger puzzle, and we need to work as a community to find the other pieces and put it all together.