Baby Hanson cries, gurgles and needs affection, and at the end of the day you can download it to make sure it hasn't been neglected.

The computerised 'baby' is the latest and perhaps most unlikely weapon in the fight to tackle unwanted teenage pregnancies in schools.

"Some 15 or 16-year-old girls have a very rosy view of what it is like to have a baby," said Judy Sunderland, Child Development Course Co-ordinator at Hanson School, which has just taken 'delivery' of the £370 baby.

"This will give them a bit of insight into what it is really like to take care of a baby."

The 6lb doll cries and needs to be picked up in a certain way. It has a special key which is worn on a non-detachable wristband, so the carer can't just leave it at home. And its microchip computer brain is an infallible witness to neglect.

"We don't want to put them off children, just give them a taste of the reality and practicality of caring for an infant."

Mrs Sunderland first spotted the computer baby when it was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show, and she managed to track one down from a company that imports the babies in London.

Hanson is the first school in Bradford to use the computer baby. The school doesn't have a large number of girls who are forced to leave school because they become pregnant, but Mrs Sunderland thought the computer baby would give them insights into he reality of child care.

But Derek Simmonds, manager of Bradford District Health Promotion Service's HIV and Sexual Health Team, says teenage pregnancies are a massive problem in England and in Bradford. Britain has the highest number in Europe, seven times that of Holland and five times that of Germany or France.

He believes initiatives like Baby Hanson have the potential to make the difference and hammer home the reality of child care to teenagers.

Boys and girls need to be given facts about sex that will enable them to make an informed choice, he said.

"They need to be given the skills education and knowledge about sex and when that is given the evidence is that people usually choose to wait to have sex and not to become pregnant under age," he said.

The team already has a handful of projects running to address increases in teenage pregnancy.

Sex education must be taught in schools, according to the 1988 Education Act, but provision varies wildly, said Mr Simmonds.

One remedy under consideration by the government is to provide teachers with training about sex education which would go some ways to standardising what is available.

Most schools in Bradford already have a system for PSE, or Personal and Social Education, which covers the whole remit of personal development and education.

At Bowling Community College, every pupil from the time they enter the school in Lister Avenue, is allocated lesson time for PSE.

It is time well worth spending in school, says teacher Lesley Higgins.

"It is something everybody does and we feel it teaches valuable lessons."

Lessons about sex and pregnancy are carried out in the context of Catholic teachings at Yorkshire Martyrs Roman Catholic School, says deputy head Paul Rowan.

The PSE programme at the school in Tong was approved by governors and the underlying message is of abstention.

"We teach that sexual relationships should be in the context of long-term, stable relationships expressed through marriage," he said.

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