Teenagers flock to contraception clinics

More women are giving birth in their 30s

Twice as many teenage girls visit family planning clinics looking for contraception advice compared with 10 years ago.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that almost one-in-four girls, between the ages of 16 and 19, attended family planning clinics last year. In 1989, just one-in-eight used these services.

Main findings

One in four teenagers are attending family planning clinics

Just 12% of women are seeking contraception advice

More women are getting pregnant in their 30s

One in five pregnancies are terminated

However, fewer women overall are attending these centres. Just 12% of those aged between 20 and 34 attended family planning clinics last year. This compares with 21% a decade ago.

Although more teenagers are using these services, pregnancy rates in this group have remained unchanged over the past 25 years.

In comparison, pregnancies among those aged between 20 and 24 have fallen by more than a fifth while more women are conceiving in their thirties compared with 25 years ago.

Conception rates for women aged between 30 and 34 have increased by over 60%, while rates for those aged between 35 and 39 have increased by over 80%.

In 1976, more than two-thirds of births were to women in their twenties and just one-in-five were to women in their thirties.

However, by 1998 close to half of all births were to women in their thirties.

The average age of mothers at birth is now 29 years. They are, on average, three years older than women who gave birth in the 1970s.

The study also shows an increase in the number of abortions over the past 25 years. In 1976, 16% of all pregnancies were terminated but by 1998 this had risen to 21%.

Concerted effort

A spokesperson for the Family Planning Association said the increase in teenagers seeking advice follows a concerted effort in recent years to target this group.

She said the drop in the number of women consulting family planning clinics after the age of 20 is due to the fact that most are advised to seek treatment from their GP instead.

"We know that services have been concentrated towards young people over past few years which we welcome and applaud but very often the case is that as soon as these women reach 20 they are then told to see GP.

"We think it is important that family planning services focus on all women and that they provide services for all age groups."