This article discusses trends in teenage conception rates, their .... receiving assistance from income support on their
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Teenage mothers and the health of their children Beverley Botting, Michael Rosato and Rebecca Wood Demography and Health ONS
Teenage mothers continue to present challenges to social policy and remain of topical interest to the media. This article discusses trends in teenage conception rates, their outcomes and long term consequences. In 1996, 7 per cent of all births were to girls aged under 20. On average children born to teenage girls have lower birthweights, increased risk of infant mortality and an increased risk of some congenital anomalies. They are less likely to be breastfed and more likely to live in deprived
INTRODUCTION ‘Teenage conceptions tend to be both a symptom and a cause of social inequality. They can become a cycle of deprivation’1
circumstances. These factors in turn influence their health and long term opportunities.
The seriousness of teenage pregnancy as a health issue was reflected in the previous Government’s Health of the Nation initiative.2 The target was to reduce the conception rate for girls aged under 16 in England by at least 50 per cent from its 1989 base of 9.5 per 1,000 to 4.8 by the year 2000. The current Government is similarly concerned and has set up four Task Groups to address the problems of unwanted pregnancies, particularly among those aged under 16. The Green Paper ‘Our Healthier Nation’3 does not set national targets for reducing the conception rate, but recognises the need for local targets where this is a matter of local concern. Of course some teenage pregnancies are planned, and others, although not planned, result in wanted babies. It is in this age group, however, that there is the largest proportion of unplanned and unwanted pregnancies. These pregnancies can have long term implications on the health and socio-economic future of both the mother and child. RECENT DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS Conceptions In official statistics, conceptions are defined as pregnancies resulting in live births, stillbirths or legal terminations. These data are available for the total population of England and Wales. Data on other pregnancy outcomes, mainly miscarriages, are excluded from this definition as they are only available for samples of the population and are known to be incomplete.
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Using this definition of ‘conception’, conception rates (per thousand girls aged 15–19) fell for all teenage girls from 69 in 1990 to 59 in 1995 and then rose again to 63 in 1996 (Figure 1). Nevertheless, these rates are still all below the teenage conception rates seen in the early 1970s. Figure 1
Conception rates by age of woman, England and Wales 1969-1996
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