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Yep, its just when junior goes to school that the mummy loses all say on the subject:D
Hang on a minute. You claimed that cutting welfare will cut pregnancy rates of people that you deem to be "unfit mothers" (the working classes presumably). Then you link to an article about economic success, lower unemployment, less poverty etc. I think those things are going to have more impact on pregnancy rates among poor people than whether they can get benefits or not. If a women sees decent education prospects, employment prospects etc, she's far less likely to have kids earlier and far less likely to abuse drink and drugs. It doesn't take a genius to work it out. For someone who seems to be intelligent, you ain't half dim sometimes.
as for educating people about the effect of drinking/doping whilst pregnant, i think it's fairly obvious even to the ignorant that it's not going to do your baby much good........i have to say this subject is something i find hard to deal with because whilst being somewhat liberal and very much in favour of personal freedoms, it disgusts me when i see a pregnant mother smoking or boozing because it's just incredibly selfish, if a friend of mine was doing it i'd have a right go, and i'd go so far as to say it would probably affect our friendship because i'd think so much less of them.........like MoK says your kid will have to go through enough shit of their own once their on the outside, might as well give them the best chance you can.........and if they can't quit the drink/drugs, then this is one of the few occasions where i would recommend abortion, cos they're obviously unfit to be a mother. god help me if i ever marry a smoker lol.
No, its not nice. But as I said - people are complex. Women who drink and smoke during pregnancy probably don't care much for themselves either. I find it tragic rather than something to get angry with the women about. Get angry at a society that doesn't give a fuck about people's mental health instead.
I can understand it, I guess, when it's a heavy addiction, but for those that it isn't I find it a very selfish way to act.
If the implication is that all working class pregnant women drink heavily and chain smoke that's as untrue as it is offensive.
Unfortunately, misguidedly some teenage pregnancies are due to a desire to escape - perhaps get away from abusive parents and seen as a way out - the hope being that a kid will get them a council flat. I know where I grew up that's true of a few girls. And all of them I think found out pretty fast that it was a lot harder than they thought...There is a mistaken belief amongst some that getting pregnant will get a council flat and provide a way out. Revising these illusionary 'incentives' might help.
It was your implication mate.
How can you revise incentives that are illusory?
They exist in some form; take the view that a baby equates to a council flat...It just doesn't normally work out how people naively think it will.
My best mate was pregnant and would still come out with us up town till she was about 6 months gone. She would drink orange juice and we'd sit down at a table. Not doing any harm, she still wanted to socialise and see her friends. One time we were walking down the road to get a taxi and a bouncer sucked his teeth and said: "Look at that, pregnant and out on the town" in a really disgusted voice. As though being pregnant was an unnatural state. :rolleyes: :grump:
(I had a row with him)
I offer this up without taking the view on whether Caroline Flint has uncovered the truth or is talking bollocks
Some proper documentation would have been nice.
Going on Ms. Flint's previous record I'd suggest she is talking bollocks, again.
(she was responsible for Talk to Frank, whose first outing was about as mistake ridden as it could get)
But a lot do think it will get them a council flat. They're usually wrong, but lots of people think it (not just the teen mums themselves to be fair)
My guess is less than 1% of all pregancies.
Though according to some it's practically all of them.
I happen to think that quite a few people do, actually, but that isn't a criticism.
You can't do anything about these problems if you deny that they exist.
People do act like this, but cutting benefits isn't the way to go about it. If the bhest you will ever achieve is a till job at netto then of course you won't care too much about contraception- you'll be cared for, and you won't lose out. Getting people to have more ambition is how the problems will be solved, not cutting and cutting benefits.
Says who?
I disagree with you here. Some women are fearful of labour and labour pain. Fear increases the reception of pain. Therefore if a woman believes her labour will be less painfull, it will be.