Wales: Teenage conception figures released

More than half of teenage conceptions in Wales end in abortion, the Western Mail reports.

Just under 60% of girls under 16 who find themselves pregnant now opt to have a termination, with 48% of under-18s choosing the procedure. This is an increase from five years ago, when the abortion rate was around 50% for under-16s and 40% for under-18s.

Overall, the number of teenage conceptions in Wales has fallen, with the figures for the first half of 2009, the most recent available, 8.65% lower than the year before.

An Assembly Government spokeswoman said:

‘We are continuing to work towards decreasing rates of conception for women under 18 in Wales as many of these pregnancies are unplanned. An abortion is an extremely difficult decision for women, whatever their age. It is the role of the Assembly Government and the NHS in Wales to ensure appropriate access to help, information and support to women considering this option and safe care and treatment if required.’

The Assembly Government is soon to publish its Sexual Health and Wellbeing Action Plan for Wales 2010-2015, which will set out how it intends to improve sexual health in Wales, the Western Mail reports.

A key component of the document is the need for an integrated response to tackle teenage pregnancies that will focus on those most vulnerable and address the wider issues such as the reduction of child poverty, raising the standard of education and the provision of good quality youth services. This will follow work under way in schools and be supported by school nurses in secondary schools.

A spokeswoman for abortion advice charity BPAS said teenagers were now more likely to be aware of how to access abortions than in the past, with most now carried out on the NHS.

Teenagers and those in their twenties are far more likely to choose to have abortions than older women – 11.4% of pregnancies among 30 to 34-year-olds end in abortion. Overall, 20.5% of pregnancies in Wales end in a termination.

The rate of teenage conceptions varies between local authority areas, with some seeing large increases while others see continued falls.

In Rhondda Cynon Taf the number of teenage pregnancies has dropped by a third year on year to the lowest in 12 years. But the Vale of Glamorgan saw a year-on-year increase of 61.9% to its highest numbers since June 2002.

Most teen pregnancies end with abortions. By Claire Miller, Western Mail, 25 August 2010