Number of teen mothers halves in a decade

TEENAGE pregnancy has more than halved in a decade thanks to the emergence of a ‘Generation Sensible’ of young people, a report said yesterday.

It said teenagers were more interested in families, Facebook and careers than in sex, and that most regard pregnancy at a young age as a sign of irresponsibility.

The study run by the UK’s biggest abortion organisation concluded that modern teens ‘enjoy spending time with their family, and place a greater importance on this than socialising with their friends’. It said: ‘Many believe that sex is special and should only occur within the context of a trusting, committed relationship, and they have a negative perception of those they deem promiscuous.’

Only just over a third of 16- to 18-year-olds that took part in the British Pregnancy Advisory Service research said they had lost their virginity. The report added: ‘Social, romantic and sexual relationships are increasingly experienced online, and sexting is seen as an alternative as well as a precursor to intercourse.’

Yet the study gave no credit to the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy, the campaign to promote contraception and sex education launched in 1998 by Tony Blair, for the huge fall in pregnancy among under-18s in England and Wales since 2007. It noted that the campaign, which led to a rise in teenage abortion, had been ditched in 2010 and added: ‘Teen conception rates have declined despite the closure of contraceptive services across the country, which may in turn be hampering young people’s ability to access contraceptive advice and support when needed. Therefore, while the uptake of long-acting methods of contraception will undoubtedly have had an impact, our research indicates that this alone cannot be responsible for the ongoing and significant decline in teenage pregnancy rates.’

The findings by BPAS, which carried out 70,000 abortions in England and Wales last year, and which campaigns for abortion on demand, are among the first to try to explain the drop in teen pregnancy. In 1998, the year in which Mr Blair launched his campaign, there were 47.1 pregnancies for every 1,000 girls under 18 in England and Wales.

By 2007, the level had declined only to 41.6, higher than in the early 1980s. However after 2007, the year in which social media took off, teen pregnancy rates started to fall fast, and in 2016 there were just 18.9 pregnancies among every 1,000 girls under 18.

The BPAS report was based on focus groups of 16- to 18-year-olds, together with a poll of more than 1,000 young people of the same age, both run by YouGov. Drinks industry body the Portman Group paid for the surveys.

BPAS researcher Katherine O’Brien explained: ‘This new so- called Generation Sensible – a term that was met with pride, derision, and disbelief by our focus group participants – is one which is firmly focused on their education and careers.’

‘Generation sensible’