New conception statistics released for England and Wales

New figures released today by the Office of National Statistics show that in 2007, 50% of all under-18s who became pregnant had an abortion, a rise of 2% on the previous year’s figures.

These statistics do not reflect the overall trend in the decisions of women of all ages on abortion. In 2006-7, there was no change in the percentage of conceptions to women of all ages ending in abortion. This proportion has remained static for around a decade in England and Wales at around 22%.

The under-16 conception rate increased slightly from the previous year, from 7.8 per 1,000 girls aged 13-15 in 2006 to 8.3 in 2007. There were an estimated 8,196 conceptions to girls aged under 16 in 2007, representing just under 1 per cent of all conceptions.

The new statistics also show that overall, there were an estimated 894,100 conceptions to women of all ages in England and Wales in 2007, compared with 870,000 in 2006, an increase of 2.8 per cent. Conception rates rose in women of all ages, with the overall rate increasing from 78.3 to 80.3 conceptions per 1,000 women aged 15-44.

Women at all ages over 30 years have seen sustained increases in conception rates since 2000. The largest percentage increase in conceptions to women aged over 18 was in the 30-34 year old age group, where the rate rose from 117.5 conceptions per 1,000 women aged 30-34 in 2006 to 121.7 in 2007. Conceptions to 30-34 year olds made up 23.6 per cent of all conceptions in 2007, the second largest proportion by age group.

In 2007, the conception rate remained highest for women aged 25-29, at 133.4 per 1,000 women in the age group. This age group also had the highest number of conceptions with 234,200 in 2007, making up 26.2 per cent of all conceptions.

Ann Furedi, Chief Executive of BPAS said of this data:

‘We can all agree that the high proportion of teenagers experiencing an unintended pregnancy is a significant health problem which society must tackle head on. However, the fact that half of the teenagers in this position felt able to end their pregnancy in abortion is actually a positive sign. This means that more young women now know how to get the care they need and that if they have other plans for their teenage years aside from motherhood, they felt more able to make that choice.

‘There is less social stigma about abortion amongst young people these days. If that means young women now have more choice about whether to keep their baby, or to end a pregnancy if their contraception has let them down, then that is an entirely good thing.

‘The reasons why unintended pregnancies happen in all age groups are very complex and difficult to understand. If it was simple, it would be easy to come up with a quick-fix solution, but that’s not the way it is. Government initiatives to promote contraception to young people are great, but we really have to look at why youngsters aren’t motivated to use it consistently- or if they are, what’s going wrong.’

The Government responded to the figures by announcing new funding for contraception campaigns, reports The Times (London). Dawn Primarolo, the public health minister, and Beverley Hughes, the children’s minister, promised £20.5 million funding, of which £19 million was new:

‘Young people need good advice and easy access to contraception when they become sexually active,’ said Ms Primarolo.

Ms Hughes blamed patchy implementation of the Government’s strategy for the rise in pregnancies.

‘Today’s teenage pregnancy statistics are disappointing, although the reduction in the last quarter of 2007 over 2006 gives me cautious optimism that the drive to reduce teenage pregnancy conceptions is still on track. There is no doubt that rates have come down where local areas have implemented the strategy properly, even in deprived areas,’ she said.

Andrew Lansley, the Shadow Health Secretary, said:

‘This is another Government target missed. Once again it demonstrates how pointless it is to set targets if the Government doesn’t do what is needed to deliver on them. Reducing teenage pregnancy requires more than teaching children about sex. It requires a supportive and responsible family together with high-quality relationship education which gives teenagers the self-confidence and guidance needed to recognise their interest in avoiding early and unprotected sexual intercourse.’

All statistics are for England and Wales.

News Release - Conception rate increases among under 18s. Office for National Statistics, 26 February 2009

Shock rise in teenage pregnancies hits government strategy. The Times (London), 26 February 2009

BPAS responds to ONS release of 2007’s teenage conception and abortion statistics. BPAS press release, 26 February 2009

The new statistics are published in Health Statistics Quarterly 41, Spring 2009 (p66)