Teen Pregnancy Month began on Monday with a proclamation by Health and Family Services Minister Patrice Minors. She urged all Bermudians to work together with their families, schools, parishes, churches and social organisations to reduce the amount of teenage pregnancies in the community.

May was officially designated as Teen Pregnancy Month in 1998, Ms Minors said, yet teen pregnancies remained a significant problem that impacted every parish, school and home with great economic, social and personal cost to teens, their children and society.

?The Teen Pregnancy Prevention campaign aims to improve the overall well-being of teens by reducing the statistics of teen pregnancies and therefore their dependence on financial assistance,? Ms Minors said.

The campaign included increasing awareness and commitment to teen prevention prevention, she said, and encouraged teens to avoid early pregnancy.

It would also encourage parents and other adult mentors to play key roles in teen pregnancy prevention efforts, she said, motivating teens to attain their education, offer teens clear guidance on pathways to college or the workforce so they would be ?less inclined? to become pregnant and building public and private sector partnerships that included parents, schools, businesses, the media as well as health and human service providers.

The campaign also sought to reduce the degree of ?risky sexual behaviours? through abstinence and personal responsibility as primary messages of pregnancy prevention programmes, she said.

?Furthermore the Teen Services Agency, hereby pledges its ongoing commitment to the Teen Pregnancy Prevention campaign,? Minister Minors said. ?And will continue to interact with students in the Middle and Senior Schools through presentations, skits, handouts and follow up intervention.?