Single women set a ‘troubling’ new pregnancy record

THE proportion of unmarried women becoming pregnant is greater than the figure for married women, figures have revealed for the first time.

There were 75.1 conceptions per 1,000 single women in 2021 compared with 72.2 per 1,000 married women, the data shows.

According to the Office for National Statistics, this means that ‘for the first time since records began, women outside of marriage or civil partnership had a higher conception rate than those within marriage or civil partnership’. Conception rates rose from 73.4 per 1,000 unmarried women in 2011 and fell from 91.6 per 1,000 married women.

Experts warned that more children would grow up with the ‘misery’ of their parents separating.

The ONS figures also showed there were 824,983 conceptions in England and Wales in 2021, up from 817,515 in 2020 – marking the first rise in six years.

However, a record 26.5 per cent of conceptions led to abortions in 2021, up from 25.3 per cent the previous year. Women aged 30 to 34 had the most conceptions, with a record high of 249,073, while the biggest rise was among over-40s, increasing from 31,438 to 33,305.

Conversely, the teenage pregnancy rate has halved over the last decade. There was also a dramatic slump in Londoners getting pregnant.

The ONS’s Sian Bradford said the numbers ‘could suggest that fewer women are waiting until after marriage to start a family’.

Christina Odone, of the Centre for Social Justice think-tank, said it was ‘troubling to see that more women are choosing to have children without being in a stable relationship’. She said: ‘We have one million children growing up without a father in the UK – this number is now set to rise and the consequences are sadly well known: a poorer school record, more anti- social behaviour, a greater risk of ending up in a youth offending institution.’

Frank Young, of the Civitas think-tank, added: ‘There is very little to celebrate in this data that shows couples moving away from marriage before having children.

‘It will mean more children in years to come will witness their parents separating and the misery that comes with it. We shouldn’t be indifferent to this news which shows that almost two-thirds of couples are having children in relationships that are statistically more likely than not to break down.

‘We need to be much more open about the importance of making a lifelong commitment through marriage or a civil partnership before the lifelong responsibility of children.

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service suggested the rise in conceptions in 2021 could have been linked to the easing of lockdown restrictions.

‘Little to celebrate in this data’