Teenage pregnancy and sexual health in the United Kingdom

Introduction

The United Kingdom currently has the highest teenage birth rate in Western Europe. The current Labour Government have pledged to half the number of conceptions to girls under 18 by 2010. Over the last fifty years the proportion of teenagers and in particular those under the age of 16 who have experienced sexual intercourse has increased dramatically. The 2001 survey of sexual attitudes and lifestyles revealed that over 90% of teenagers had experience of sexual intercourse and around a quarter had before the age of 16. Though with the increase in the proportion having intercourse, there has also been an increase in the knowledge and use of contraception, through sex education and the upsurge in family planning clinics.

Births to teenagers increased during the 1960s and peaked in 1971 at 50.6 per thousand of the population. Since 1971 they have gradually fallen to their lowest level since the mid Fifties. The proportion occurring outside marriage has increased from around one in six in the 1950s to nine in every ten in 2006. Teenage abortion rates are currently at their highest rate since legalisation in 1968. Although the number of conceptions are falling the proportion ending in abortion has increased over the last ten years.

Sexual Activity & Contraception Use

1952: The Family Planning Association, which was set up in the 1930s, began to offer contraceptive advice to single women who were just about to wed. [" [http://www.fpa.org.uk/information/factsheets History of Family Planning Services] " FPA]

1954 A Study in Manchester revealed that between the years 1937 & 1954, almost a quarter of under-age girls coming to the attention of one female police officer regarding under age sex were pregnant. It was also noted that the girls often came from particular backgrounds, either broken homes or of bad parental influence. It was also revealed that they also tended to have a lower than average IQ. [ " [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=2027646&pageindex=3#page Carnal Knowledge Cases] " "British Medical Journal 6 December 1958 page 1406" ]

1961: A study of Scottish women revealed that almost a quarter of single women were sexually experienced before their 20th birthday, the proportion haven risen from 6% during the late 1940s and 15% during the late 1950s. The findings of the study showed that there was a clear increase in sexual intercourse among young single women before the advent of the contraceptive pill in 1961. [Margaret Bone Trends In Women's Sexual Behaviour In Scotland (spring 1983)"Population Trends Volume 43" ]

The combined oral contraceptive pill became available, though initially only to married women. The proportion of teenage women who were married rose from 5% in 1951 to 8%.

1964: One in twenty girls under 16 were sexually active. [ Michael Schofield Sexual Behaviour Of Young People (1965) published by Longmans ]

The first comprehensive survey of sexual behaviour in United Kingdom amongst unmarried teenagers revealed that a third of boys and almost one in six girls were sexually experienced by the age of 18. It also estimated that around one in three teenage girls who engaged in premarital sexual intercourse fell pregnant. [" [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=1840935&pageindex=1 Sexual Promiscuity Among students] " (1967) "British Medical Journal"] Also revealed in the survey was that one in five of sexually experienced girls and two fifths of sexually experienced boys always used birth control. The most common form of birth control being the condom used by around 80% of the sexually active teenagers. [" [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=1845761&pageindex=1 Sexual Behaviour of Young people] " (31 July 1965) "British Medical Journal"] [ Michael Schofield Sexual Behaviour Of Young People (1965) ]

Helen Brook set-up the Brook Advisory Centres offering contraceptive advice to young single people under the age of 25.

1967: A change in the law allowed local health authorities to offer contraceptive services to unmarried people if they so wished; though by 1968 only one in six authorities were providing such a service. [" [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&pageindex=1&artid=1630272 Family Planning Services] " (27 December 1969) " British Medical Journal"] Mr K Robinson answering a question in the House Of Commons regarding the new Family Planning Act in October 1967, stated that it would be unwise to exclude girls under 16 from receiving advice at family planning clinics (FPC). Though these girls would only be seen at FPCs in exceptional circumstances even with parental consent. [” [http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1967/oct/23/national-health-service-family-planning#S5CV0751P0-03571 Family Planning Act ] ” (23rd October 1967) “ House Of Commons Debates”]

1969: Brook Advisory Centres were now offering contraceptive advice to over ten thousand unmarried people under 25, the majority were aged between 19 and 21 with around one in six being under 19. [" [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=1795410&pageindex=5#page Professional Secrecy] " (20 March 1971) "British Medical Journal-Supplement."]

1970: The Family Planning Association were now mandated to offer contraception to unmarried people.

1971: A doctor was reported for informing the parents of a 16 year-old girl that she had come to him seeking contraception. This prompted the British Medical Association to advise doctors to maintain young patients' confidentiality when seeking contraception. Three quarters of teenagers visiting Brook Advisory Centres during the early '70s were doing so without their parents' knowledge. [ “ [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=1795410&pageindex=5#page Professional Secrecy] ” (20 March 1971)" British Medical Journal " ]

A survey of Scottish single female students revealed that a third had had sexual intercourse by the age of 18 with over half not using any form of contraception. The survey also showed that one in seven girls who had recently been sexually active, their partner was a casual boyfriend. [” [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=1788912&pageindex=1 Sexual Behaviour & Contraceptive Practice Among Unmarried Female Undergraduates] ” (17 Jun 1972) "British Medical Journal"

1975: Under the new National Health Service reorganisation act contraception was made available free of charge to everyone including single people and those aged under 16. Clarification was given to doctors that they could provide contraception to patients under 16 without parental consent in certain circumstances.

The average age of first sexual intercourse for girls had now dropped from 21 in the mid 1950s to 18. Over a quarter of boys under 16 and almost one in eight girls under 16 were now sexually experienced. [Kaye Wellings et al Sexual Behaviour In Britain (1994)]

1978: Brook Advisory Centres were now government funded. 3% of Brook's clients were now under the age of 16.

1980: A review of the 1974 DHSS circular about parental consent and the issuing of contraception/abortion advice to girls under 16, concluded that a doctor or a professional worker should always seek to persuade the child to involve her parents or guardian at the earliest stage of consultation. Though it is accepted that occasionally contraception would be given without parental consent. [” [http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1980/may/06/contraceptives-school-children#S5CV0984P0-05275 Contraceptives (School Children] ” (6th May 1980) “House Of Commons Debate”]

1983: Cuts in health service expenditure forced the closure of many family planning clinics and a restriction in the services available to young people. [" [http://www.fpa.org.uk/information/factsheets History of Family Planning Services FPA Factsheet] "]

1984: In a high court ruling in favour of Victoria Gillick it was deemed illegal for health professionals to advise or give girls under 16 contraceptives without parental consent except in exceptional circumstances. [" [http://www.fpa.org.uk/information/factsheets/documents_and_pdfs/detail.cfm?contentid=115 FPA Under 16s Consent & Confidentiality Factsheet] "]

1985: The House of Lords overturned the high court ruling and confidential contraceptive advice to young people was restored. [" [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=1417816&pageindex=1 The Gillick Judgment] " (26 October 1985) "British Medical Journal"]

1986: The number of girls under 16 visiting family planning clinics in England reached over seventeen thousand, in 1983. In 1985 the number dropped to twelve thousand due to the high court ruling it illegal to provide under 16s contraception confidentially, the number rose again to sixteen thousand in 1986 following the decision by the house of lords to over turn the high court ruling. [" [http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/PublicationsAndStatistics/Statistics/StatisticalWorkAreas/StatisticalHealthCare/DH_4086490 NHS Contraceptive Services Statistics] "]

1991: In the first sex survey of its kind, the National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (NATSAL) revealed that one in six girls under 16 and a quarter of boys under 16 were sexually experienced. [" [http://www.dfes.gov.uk/teenagepregnancy/dsp_Content.cfm?PageID=87 Social Exclusion Report On Teenage Pregnancy] ” ] A Survey revealed that a fifth of sexually active 16-17 year olds and over half of 18-19 year olds were using at least one method of contraception. [ Teenage conceptions & Fertility (Winter 1993) "Population Trends Volume 74"]

2001: The second NATSAL showed that the average age of first intercourse had dropped from 17 in the 1980s to 16. It also revealed that a quarter of girls and nearly a third of boys were sexually experienced before the age of 16. [ Sexual Behaviour in Britain: Early Heterosexual Experience (December 2001) "The Lancet Volume 358"]

2005: The numbers of girls under 16 visiting family planning clinics had risen throughout the 1990s to peak at over ninety-one thousand in 2003, before falling to eighty-three thousand. The most popular choice being the condom with over half choosing this method of contraceptive. [" [http://www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/health-and-lifestyles/contraception/nhs-contraceptive-services-england-2005-06 NHS Contraceptive Services 2005/6] " ]

Sexually Transmitted Infections

1954: study in Manchester showed that there was an increase in the number of teenage men and women visiting sexual health clinics for treatment of venereal disease. 23% of women seen at these clinics were teenagers compared to 10% in 1939. In men it rose from 3.8% in 1939 to 4.8%. [ " [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=1969895&pageindex=1 Venereal Disease In Adolescents] " "British Medical Journal" ]

1963: 27% of all women attending sexual health clinics with the sexually transmitted infection Gonorrhoea was under the age of 20. [" [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=1845761&pageindex=1 Sexual Behaviour of Young people] " (31 July 1965) "British Medical Journal"] This percentage was an increase on 1957 when 23% of women visiting STI clinics were under 20. [” [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=1047363&pageindex=1 Age Group Of Patients With Venereal Disease”] British Journal Of Venereal Disease 1960/36 pg225]

1971: The number of teenagers visiting sexual health clinics with gonorrhoea reached over ten thousand, 60% were girls and one in twenty were under 16. [ “ [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=1588119&pageindex=1 Legal Aspect Of Venereal Disease In Teenagers] ” (27 January 1973) "British Medical Journal"]

1976: The rate of new cases of gonorrhoea diagnosed at sexual health clinics amongst girls under 16 in England had increased more than three-fold since 1966 from 2.76 per hundred thousand of the population to 9.38. Amongst boys under 16 the rate had gone up from 0.94 to 2.19. [ “ [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=1048331&pageindex=2 Sexually transmitted diseases annual report 1970] ” ] [” [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=1046179&pageindex=3 Sexually Transmitted Diseases Annual Report 1981] ” British Journal Of Venereal Disease 1970 and 1981 ]

1981: A third of all women visiting sexual health clinics in England with gonorrhoea were under 20. The number of persons under 16 being diagnosed with Gonorrhoea in England fell from 637 in 1976 to 361. [ “ [http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1984/dec/11/sexually-transmitted-diseases Sexually Transmitted Diseases] ” (11 December 1984) “House Of Commons Debate”]

1996: There was over ten thousand new cases of gonorrhoea to teenagers reported in sexual health clinics up over 30% from 1995 and over seven thousand new cases of Chlamydia to teenagers up over 16% from 1995. [" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/343062.stm Sexual Risk to Britain's teenagers] " "BBC News"]

2005: The number of new cases of gonorrhoea reported at sexual health clinics occurring to teenagers had fallen since 1970s, from over ten thousand, to three thousand seven hundred. Levels of chlamydia had risen throughout the 1980s and 1990s and was now the most common sexually transmitted infection amongst teenagers with over thirty thousand new cases reported, almost 28% of all new cases. [" [http://www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/hiv_and_sti/epidemiology/dataresource.htm Health Protection Agency] " ]

2006: A screening programme of young people by the Department of Health revealed that 12% of girls aged 16-19 and 13% of men aged 20-24 were infected with the STI Chlamydia. [" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5342114.stm 13% Of Young Men Have Chlamydia] " "BBC News"]

Conceptions

1969: New statistics compiled which considered the age of the girl at conception rather than her age at the birth or abortion revealed that over six and a half thousand girls under 16 became pregnant in England & Wales, with a quarter ending in legal abortion. [" [http://www.brook.org.uk/content/M6_2_3_teenageconception.asp Brook Teenage Conception Factsheet] " ]

1973: The number of girls who became pregnant under 16 also reached new heights at almost nine thousand eight hundred. The proportion ending in legal abortion had almost doubled since 1969, rising from 24 to 45 percent.

1981: The numbers of girls who became pregnant under 16 fell to their lowest level since 1970. Over half of the eight thousand five hundred pregnancies resulted in legal abortion.

1990: The number of girls under 16 who became pregnant in England & Wales fell to eight thousand one hundred, though the rate reached an all time high of 9.5 in every thousand girls, eclipsing the previous highest rate in the early 1970s. Half of all the eight thousand one hundred pregnancies ended in legal abortion.

1992: The Conservative Party set out a target to reduce the rate of under age pregnancies by 50% by the year 2000. [ Teenage conceptions & Fertility (Winter 1993) "Population Trends Volume 74"]

1996: The number of pregnancies to under 16s increased ten percent over 1995, to over eight thousand eight hundred. The sharp increase was put down to a scare at the end of 1995 over possible side effects of combined oral contraceptive pills.

1997: A study revealed that there was a north and south divide in the rate of pregnancies to under 18s. With the highest rates and proportion leading to maternity being in the north of Britain and the lowest rates with the highest proportion leading to abortion, being in the south, with London being the exception having both high rates of pregnancy and abortion. [" [http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=6303 Geographic Variations In Conceptions Under 18 During the 1990's] " (Winter 2000) "Population Trends Volume 102"]

1999: The Labour Party set out a target to half the number of pregnancies to under 18s by the year 2010. The under-18 pregnancy rate was forty-two in every thousand, with 43% ending in legal abortion.

2002: A report found that around half of all pregnancies to under 18s was concentrated among the 30% most deprived population. With only 14% occurring among the 30% least deprived. Also that the most deprived areas had higher proportions of pregnancies leading to a maternity. [" [http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=6725 Teenage Conceptions By Small Area Deprivation In England and Wales 2001-2] " (Spring 2007)"Health Statistics Quarterly Volume 33"]

2006: Latest figures revealed that underage conception rate in England & Wales was down from the previous year and down 13% since 1998. [" [http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2008_0033 Teen Pregnancy Rates Lowest For Over 20 Years] " "DCSF" ] Almost 60% of the conceptions ended in legal abortion, [" [http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=15055 Conception Statistics 2006 (provisional)] " "Office for National Statistics" ] the proportion up 2% on 2005 and highest proportion since conceptions statistics began in 1969.

Abortions

1967: Abortion was legalised in England, Wales and Scotland under the Abortion Act. The first legalised abortions were performed on April 27th 1968.

1969: Over nine and a half thousand teenage girls (over one thousand two hundred being under 16) opted for an abortion in England, Wales & Scotland in the first full year of legalisation, (almost one in five of all abortions) the majority of whom were single. A survey of women seeking an abortion by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service revealed that almost two fifths of parents of single pregnant teenage girls were unaware of their daughters pregnancy, the majority of these being to teenagers who were not living at home. [" [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=1799057&pageindex=1 Survey Of 3000 unwanted Pregnancies] " Joan Lambert (16 October 1971) "British Medical Journal"]

1971: Controversy was sparked when a 12 year old girl who had just recently under gone an abortion was put on the contraceptive pill on the initiative of the aborting doctor and with the consent of her parents. [” [http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1971/jun/28/sexual-offences-act-1956#S5CV0820P0-00434 Sexual Offences Act 1956] ” (28th June 1971) House Of Commons Debate]

2006: Mother of two teenage daughters, Sue Axon lost her battle in the high court to try and prevent under age girls from seeking an abortion without their parents permission. [" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/4636666.stm Mother Loses Right To Know Case] " (January 2006) "BBC News" ] Figures revealed that there was 4,352 abortions in England, Wales & Scotland to under 16s. Up five percent on 2005. [" [http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsStatistics/DH_075697 Abortion Statistics In England & Wales 2006] " "Department of Health"] [" [http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/information-and-statistics.jsp?pContentID=1918&p_applic=CCC&p_service=Content.show&#Tables Abortions Scotland 2006] " " ISD Scotland"]

2007: The number of abortions performed on girls under 16 reached record levels in England & Wales. 4,376 girls (4.4 per thousand of the population) had an abortion during the year, a ten percent increase on 2006 levels. Statistics showed that the younger the age of the women at abortion the more likely it was to be in the second trimester. Seventeen percent of abortion to girls aged under-14 were over twelve weeks gestation compared to almost nine percent for women over aged over 34. [” [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/cgi-bin/newhtml_hl?DB=semukparl&STEMMER=en&WORDS=amess%20abort&ALL=abortion&ANY=&PHRASE=&CATEGORIES=&SIMPLE=&SPEAKER=amess&COLOUR=red&STYLE=s&ANCHOR=80722w0020.htm_wqn4&URL=/pa/cm200708/cmhansrd/cm080722/text/807 Abortions] ” (22 Jul 2008) Hansard Written Answer column 1071 ] [” [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmhansrd/cm080703/text/80703w0018.htm. Abortions] ” (3 July 2008) Hansard Written Answer column 1100] In Scotland in 2007, under-16 abortions also reached an all-time high at 372.

Births

1951: Throughout the 1940s the teenage birth rate rose from 15.0 in every thousand in 1941 to 21.3. At the end of the second-world war the proportion of teenage births born outside marriage had almost doubled from the beginning of the decade to a third. By 1951, the proportion had dropped to 16% a proportion that remained largely unchanged throughout the decade. There was around one in six pregnant brides during the decade, the proportion being even higher for teenagers with one in four being pregnant on their wedding day.

During the 1950s illegitimate teenage births made up just a small proportion of all illegitimate births, at just under 15% with over half of all illegitimate births being to women over the age of 25.

1959: By the end of the 1950s the number of teenage births had risen nearly 50% from thirty-three thousand in 1955 to forty-six thousand, a rate of 31.6. The numbers of births to girls under 16 remained constant during the late 1940s and early half of the 1950s. From 1955 to the end of the Fifties, the numbers of under 16s giving birth more than doubled.

1964: The number of births to women of all ages had risen 11% since 1960 to a post-World War II high of almost nine hundred thousand. Compared with an increase of almost 49% to seventy-six thousand (43 per thousand) among teenagers in the same period. The number of teenage brides marrying for the first time topped one hundred thousand. The proportion of them pregnant on their wedding day had increased from 25% during the 1950s to almost 40%, more than double the proportion to that of women in their twenties. The proportion of teenage births outside marriage had risen to almost 25%, the most marked increase was in the number of girls under 16 giving birth, with an almost 50% increase between 1959 and 1960 alone. The number of births to girls under 16 had increased by 125% since 1959.

1966: A Home Office survey on adoption revealed that the natural mother in over half of all illegitimate non-parental adoptions during the year were under the age of 21. There was almost eighteen thousand illegitimate adoptions during the year with fourteen thousand being adopted to someone other than the parent(s) (non-parental). [" [http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/hors1971.html Home Office survey on adoption] " (1971) ]

1969: Even though the birth rate to women of all ages was in decline having peaked in 1964, the teenage birth rate continued to rise to a rate of 49.6 per thousand girls.

1971: Research revealed that illegitimate teenage births were more likely to occur to women from a manual social class background than a non-manual social class background. Also that over half of women having an illegitimate birth before the age of 18, would go on to have a legitimate birth before the age of 25 compared to only a third for women who didn’t have an illegitimate birth in their teens. [ Barry Werner Fertility & Family Background (Spring 1984) "Population Trends Volume 35" ]

1973: Although the overall teenage birth rate for England & Wales had peaked in 1971, the number occurring to under 16s had continued to rise, to over one thousand seven hundred. This represented a 55% increase since 1964 and a 250% increase since 1959.

1974: The number of girls under 16 in Scotland giving birth reached 148, up 39% since 1967. The number of abortions occurring to the same age group reached over 200 per year. [” [http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1978/jun/19/abortions-and-illegitimate-births#S5CV0952P0-04668 Abortions & Illegitimate Births] ” (19th June 1978 House Of Commons Debates.]

1975: With the legalisation of abortion and better availability of contraception, the number of pregnant teenage brides had declined by 37% since 1970. The teenage birth rate also declined to a rate of 36.4 in 1975. However, the proportion of teenage births occurring outside marriage continued to rise to almost one in three.

1976: The proportion of all illegitimate births occurring to teenagers had more than doubled since the 1950s from 15% to 37%, whilst the proportion occurring to women over the age of 25 had fallen from 56% to 32% in the same period. However, the proportion of births occurring outside marriage to women of all ages was still only 9%.

With the legalisation of abortion came a drop in the numbers of illegitimate children being adopted from a peak of over nineteen thousand in 1968 down to almost nine thousand. In addition, the number of mother and baby homes had declined by nearly 72% since 1966. [" [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&pageindex=1&artid=1608584 Mother & Baby Homes] " (1978) "British Medical Journal"] Much of it due to the decline in the stigma attached to having a baby outside marriage and an increase in cohabitation among unmarried couples. There was also an increase in the number of never married lone mothers, rising 44% since 1971. With half of all never married lone mothers being under the age of 25. [ Richard Leete, "One Parent Families Numbers & Characteristics" (Autumn 1978) "Population Trends Volume 13"]

1981: The numbers of under 16s giving birth under 16 fell to their lowest level since 1965.

1983: The numbers of births to teenagers had fallen by a third since 1971 to over fifty-four thousand, a rate of almost twenty-seven in every thousand. The proportion occurring outside marriage had risen to 56 percent.

1986: The proportion of teenage women who were married had fallen from a peak of 11% in 1973 to just over 3%. The numbers of births to teenager began to increase, with the proportion of teenage births occurring outside marriage continuing to increase to 69%, almost a third of which were living at the same address at the time of the birth.

1990: The number of under 16s giving birth had risen 10% since 1981.

1996: The number of births to all teenagers continued to fall from fifty-four thousand in 1983 to almost forty-five thousand, a rate of almost thirty in every thousand. The proportion occurring outside marriage was almost 89% compared to 36% for women of all ages. Though the number of births occurring to under 16s in England & Wales increased to over one thousand six hundred, their highest level since the early 70s. With another hundred and sixty occurring in Scotland.

2001: The Census showed that half of all teenagers with children were lone parents, 40% were cohabiting as a couple and 10% were married. [" [http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=7522&More=Y Census 2001 People aged 16-29] " "Office For National Statistics" ]

2005: There were forty-five thousand teenage births with 92% being outside marriage. Almost 74% of the births outside marriage were jointly registered to both parents. Over half of these were residing at the same address at the time of the birth. The teenage birth rate of 26.3.

The numbers of teenage births in Scotland had fallen from five and a half thousand (28.3 per thousand) in 1991 to four thousand one hundred, a rate of 25.8 per thousand, with 97% occurring outside marriage. [" [http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data/vital-events/vital-events-reference-tables-2006/section-3-births.html Births Scotland 2006] " "General Register Office For Scotland"]

2007: The number of births under 20 in England & Wales was 44,805, a provisional rate of 26.0 per thousand teenage women, its lowest level since the 1950s. The number of births to girls under 16 dropped to its lowest level since 1964. [” [http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=14408 Births In England & Wales 2007] ” Office for National Statistics] [” [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/cgi-bin/newhtml_hl?DB=semukparl&STEMMER=en&WORDS=birth&ALL=birth&ANY=&PHRASE=&CATEGORIES=&SIMPLE=&SPEAKER=&COLOUR=red&STYLE=s&ANCHOR=80715w0025.htm_wqn3&URL=/pa/cm200708/cmhansrd/cm080715/text/80715w0025.htm#8071 Teenage Pregnancy] ” (15th July 2008) House Of Commons Written Answer]

Statistics

References

External links

* [http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nscl.asp?ID=7432 Office For National Statistics-Data On Births]
* [http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk General Register Office For Scotland]
* [http://www.dfes.gov.uk/teenagepregnancy/dsp_Content.cfm?PageID=85 Teenage Pregnancy Unit]
* [http://www.brook.org.uk/content/ Brook Advisory]
* [http://www.fpa.org.uk Family Planning Association]
* [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/tocrender.fcgi?journal=3&action=archive British Medical Journal Archive]
* [http://www.catholicdoctors.org.uk/CMQ/Aug_1999/teen_preg_aug_1999.htm Victoria Gillick-Teenage Pregnancies]
* [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=1297204&pageindex=1 Journal Of The Royal Society Of Medicine-Trends In Teenage Pregnancy In England & Wales]