Pregnancy rate in England and Wales falls to 11-YEAR low with only women aged over 40 bucking the trend

  • Latest official figures show that conception rate has fallen to an 11-year low
  • Only women aged over 40 bucked the trend with their rate rising by 2 per cent 
  • Conceptions among teenagers has fallen to record low according to the ONS 

By James Tapsfield, Political Editor For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

Pregnancies have fallen to an 11-year low in England and Wales - with only women aged over 40 bucking the trend.

The increasing trend of women putting off having children has been underlined by the latest official figures. 

There were an estimated 862,785 conceptions to women of all ages in 2016, down 1.6 per cent on the previous year.

And the conception rate per thousand women decreased in all age groups apart from the over-40s - where it went up 2 per cent.

The details from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also show that teen pregnancies have fallen to a record low.

The conception rate per thousand women decreased in all age groups apart from the over-40s - where it went up 2 per cent

The conception rate per thousand women decreased in all age groups apart from the over-40s - where it went up 2 per cent

Both the number of conception and the rate were the lowest since 2005 in England and Wales.

The North East had the lowest conception rate in 2016, with 70.4 per thousand women aged 15 to 44 years. London had the highest at 83.1.

The proportion of conceptions outside marriage or civil partnership hit a new high of 58 per cent - up from 51 per cent in 1998. 

Some 68 per cent of conceptions outside marriage or civil partnership resulted in a maternity - compared with 92 per cent inside the unions.

The percentage leading to a legal abortion increased for all age groups apart from women aged 40 and over.

Older pregnancies have been becoming more common for decades, with the rate for women aged 35 to 39 years and 40-plus doubling since 1990. 

The ONS said the reasons for later pregnancies included increased participation in higher education, more women working and pursuing a career, the costs of having children and property prices.

The conception rate for women aged under 20 has fallen 44 per cent since 2007, and dropped 5.2 per cent between 2015 and 2016.  

Some of the overall reduction in conceptions can be accounted for by a fall in rates for teenagers.

The conception rate among women aged 15 to 17 was 18.9 per thousand - the lowest since comparable statistics were first produced in 1969.

The number fell by 11 per cent to 18,07. Among under-16s the figure slumped by 19 per cent to to 2,821. 

The details from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also show that teen pregnancies have fallen to a record low

The details from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also show that teen pregnancies have fallen to a record low

ONS spokeswoman Nicola Haines said: 'Conception rates for women aged under 18 years in England and Wales hit a record low in 2016 – declining by 10 per cent since 2015 and 60 per cent since 1998. 

'This could be associated with a shift in aspirations for young women towards education, stigma associated with being a teenage mother and programmes invested in by successive governments.

'The overall conception rate in England and Wales in 2016 was the lowest recorded since 2005, this could be a consequence of declining conception rates for women aged under 25 years.

'Conception rates declined across all age groups between 2015 and 2016, except for women aged 40 and over where the rate increased.' 

 

 

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