But, as sex eduction experts fully admit, much work still needs to be done.
The latest Office for National Statistics figures show in Lancashire, teenage conception rates in 15 to 17-year-olds have dropped from 46 per 1,000 young women in 1998 to 2000 to 41.5 in 2001 to 2003.
But in large parts of our area, particularly Burnley and Hyndburn, the figures are still worryingly high.
The area, with its social deprivation and families caught in a cycle of behaviour which has been hard to break, has long been one of the worst in the country when it came to teen pregnancies.
On a positive note, this has led to some proactive and imaginative schemes to combat the problem.
But the key is still education. Education of our children. But also education of their parents so that the message hits home throughout our community.
A new life is a beautiful thing. But no baby deserves the burden of guilt, fear and shame which can hang over it if it is unwanted and the result of a teenage mistake which can affect lives forever.
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