TEEN PREGNANCIES PLUMMET
The birth rate among under 18s has halved in a decade
THE UK has seen the greatest reduction of teen birth rates in the EU over the last decade. Around 5.7 women in every 1,000 under the age of 18 gave birth in 2016, according to the Office for National Statistics.
While that’s higher than the EU average (5.6) and still the eighth highest teen birth rate of EU countries, it’s a massive decrease compared to 10 years ago.
In 2006, some 13.0 women in every 1,000 under the age of 18 gave birth in the UK - more than double the current teen birth rate.
That year, the UK had the third highest rate, behind Romania (25.2) and Bulgaria (25.2).
The current age of consent in the UK is 16. In Bulgaria the age of consent is 14, while in Romania it is 15.
While the UK has turned its teen birth rate around, Bulgaria and Romania remain top of the list, and their birth rates have actually increased in the last decade.
Bulgaria now sees 34.4 births per 1,000 women under the age of 18, while Romania has 29.3 births.
In third place Hungary with births per 1,000 women aged under 18. Also ahead of the UK is Latvia (7.0), Greece (5.7), and Lithuania (6.3). Meanwhile, scandinavian countries have the lowest birth rates in the EU. Not even one (0.7) baby was born for every 1,000 Danish women aged under 18 in 2016. Teens in the Netherlands have a birth rate of 1.0 for every 1,000 young women, while in Luxembourg it is 1.2 While the decline teen pregnancies seen in the UK has been impressive, experts have warned there is more still to be done.
Alison Hadley, director of the Teenage Pregnancy Knowledge Exchange, said: “Scandinavian countries have a much more open dialogue about sexual health and teenagers are encouraged to talk about it, which we don’t see enough of in the UK.
“Sexual health is still seen as an embarrassing thing to discuss.
“There is still more to be done in encouraging schools to facilitate dialogues about sexual health and relationships. “Most, though not all, of these teenage pregnancies are unplanned, so we also need to make sure there are supportive networks for young mothers who do have children. “Key to sustaining reductions in teenage births will be ensuring the new statutory status of relationships and sex education translates into high quality provision for all children and young people.”