THERE is a myth which still persists from the darkest days of Thatcherism which says that teenage girls deliberately set out to get pregnant so that they can leave home. The former social security minister, Peter Lilley, went so far as to suggest pregnancy was all a wicked teenage ploy to get council houses at the state's expense.

However, midwife Gail Wintersgill has a very different story to tell, writes Marian Pallister. Wintersgill has been instrumental in setting up a Young Mums' Club at Glasgow's Royal Maternity Hospital along with colleague Julie McQueen, also of the hospital's Parenthood Education Department. The club seemed a necessary step because so few young mothers attended ante-natal classes despite the numbers booked in to have their babies.

Wintersgill says: ''We did an audit and found that the 13-17-year-olds felt self-conscious because they were single parents, they didn't want to come on their own to the classes, and they felt they were too young.'' The sympathetic midwives saw this as being completely understandable, and decided to devise a programme specially for this age group. The girls were encouraged to bring their boyfriends, mothers, or whoever they wanted as a partner, and the classes have a very informal structure.

There is certainly no sign of the bravado depicted by Lilley from the youngsters Wintersgill sees. She says: ''In pregnancy they tend to be very quiet, very self-conscious. They feel people are looking at them and saying they are too young to be expecting. Then they have professionals asking them all sorts of intimate questions about their bodies.'' This when they have hardly had time to get to know their bodies themselves. Little wonder that, as Wintersgill says: ''They are terrified in labour.''

The midwife explains of those who did not attend the ante-natal classes before the inception of the club: ''They didn't understand what was happening to their bodies. They were in pain, without their mothers, and not knowing what they could get for the pain. The whole experience of labour was terrifying.''

The strategy has been to send out invitations which are more user-friendly to 13-17-year-olds than the official hospital letter. Groups of 10 to 15 are asked to four classes. As it is vital for the girls to get advice and support, the midwives hope the club meetings will give them confidence.

Wintersgill says: ''People vote with their feet, and if they hadn't found it of value they wouldn't have come back for week two.''

Having said that, there will be an evaluation of the project in January, but Wintersgill says the club is there to stay, having already proved its worth.

She says: ''We have a very informal setting, not structured as it is for the older women. We have lots of discussion about the individual needs of the group. We show them round the labour ward so it is not strange to them, but if we find that they are knowledgeable about baby care - perhaps they have a sister with a baby - we wouldn't do the bathing-and-changing-baby routine. We discuss what they want for the group, and let them set the agenda.'' Pain relief in labour is, however, a ''must'' on the agenda of the club, but other issues are dealt with as they arise.

Wintersgill says: ''We had to offer a service for young mums. They are out there and they are not receiving the education they need.'' The midwives take the opportunity to introduce information about contraception during the course of the club meetings. ''We have mums as young as 13. I think few 13-year-olds out there are confident enough to acquire condoms and say to their boyfriend: 'Use these, and use them properly,''' she stresses. She adds: ''Most of these young mums would have chosen not to have a baby. It is a misconception that they want to have a baby to leave home.''

The rate of pregnancies in girls aged 13 to 15 in Scotland last year was 8.7 per 1000, while in Glasgow, the figure was 9.8 per1000. For girls of that age to go through their pregnancies alongside women 10 or 12 years older than them, and probably married, simply adds to their trauma. A similar scheme to the one at Rotten Row has operated successfully in Oxford at the John Radcliffe Maternity Hospital, and the Queen Mother Maternity Hospital in Glasgow is sympathetic to younger mothers. Because of its catchment area, however, the problem at the Royal Maternity involves more young mums, and Mary McGinley, head of midwifery at Glasgow Royal Infirmary University NHS Trust, says: ''This is a valuable service with more appropriate care for these young mothers,

who need a lot of support

and understanding.''