The Dutch are congratulating themselves on virtually eliminating teen pregnancy by providing sex education and free contraceptives, as well as fostering liberal attitudes. Only 0.7 per cent of pregnancies in the Netherlands are to 15- to 19-year-olds - less than half the 1.6 per cent rate of this State. Britain has a rate of nearly 5 per cent (the highest in Europe), and in the US the rate is 10 per cent.

The Dutch argue that while other countries have promoted celibacy as a means of preventing teen pregnancy, they have accepted that teens are sexually active. Oral contraceptives are available at pharmacies - they are free through the public health service - and 70 per cent of sexually active teenagers use them.

Eighty-five per cent of Dutch teens used a condom, the pill or both during their first sexual experience, an indication that liberal attitudes towards sex are accompanied by a healthy self-respect.

In Britain, teenagers are being responsible and asking their healthcare providers for contraceptives, but many do not succeed in preventing pregnancy because they are not getting the ongoing counselling they need, suggests a study in the British Medical Journal.

In the study conducted in 14 general practises in the UK, 9 out of 10 teenaged girls who became pregnant consulted a GP at least once in the year before conceiving, and seven out of 10 discussed contraception.

Half of the girls who become pregnant actually requested and received oral contraceptives in the previous year. So why did they get pregnant?

In an editorial in the British Medical Journal Basil Donovan, clinical professor at the University of Sydney, Australia, suggested that teenagers are aware that adults' attitudes toward teen sexuality vary. He suggests that GPs and other counsellors should focus on establishing rapport with teenaged girls in order to guide them through the "issues around healthy sex". Embarrassment may prevent some teens from asking "enough questions to fully understand the method being prescribed," he suggests.