To 'raise dream and ambition' - The rhetorical analysis of a teenage pregnancy strategy

Critical discourse analysis (CDA) has been evident in disciplines such as sociology and cultural studies for many years, and is of increasing interest to nurse scholars internationally. This paper outlines what CDA is and how it might be used as an approach to analysing any health text, using an example from the UK - the teenage pregnancy strategy. Discourses and linguistic techniques used within this document are discussed, together with the potential impact they may have, both on health professionals as readers, and on pregnant teenagers as targets of the strategy. Teenage pregnancy itself is an international concern, prompting different responses from the various governing bodies. When approaches to a health matter are so diverse across the developing world, it is useful to consider how policy analysis using CDA can advance our understanding of the positions taken up by the authors of the policies that might not otherwise be made explicit. © 2006 The author.