Personal and Social Development lessons should be more frequent than once a week if young people are to understand the implications of becoming parents.

Young people need to better understand the consequences of having sex and bringing kids into the world before they are ready to be parents

This was one of the concluding points raised during a conference focusing on unborn children’s quality of life.

It emerged that young people need to better understand the consequences of having sex and bringing children into the world before they were ready to be parents.

Recent figures showed last year 32 babies were born to girls aged 16 or younger.

When the National Sexual Health Policy was launched two years ago, it highlighted the “scanty and uncoordinated” sexual education in many schools.

The Personal and Social Development Association had said that schools should undergo external audits to ensure sexual health education was provided in line with the national minimum curriculum.

Conference attendees also discussed the negative repercussions that smoking and drugs had on the unborn child and the need to empower mothers to take charge of their situation.

Consultant paediatrician Simon Attard Montalto said babies born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy were often 200 grammes lighter than other babies and their heads could be smaller.

Midwife Louise Bugeja said that too many mothers were not allowed to enjoy the pregnancy as a natural process as they was too concerned about what could go wrong medially.

During the conference, organised by the Unborn Child Movement in collaboration with the Family Ministry, those present also discussed the need to strengthen the law to offer better protection to unborn children.