Teen pregnancy falls in London, but Croydon with the highest rate

Conception rates among girls under 18 have fallen steadily in London, falling by more than half between 2012 and 2022, according to a new set of data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The number of under-18s who are pregnant has fallen from 879 in June 2012 to 379 in June 2022, signaling a 57% drop.

This drop follows the national trend as in England, conception rates have similarly fallen.

However, London’s decline is notable as its rates fell below the West Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber.

British Pregnancy Advisory Service CEO Heidi Stewart said: “The cost of living crisis is having a significant impact on reproductive choice.

“Our recent survey of over 1,300 women showed that financial factors either mainly or partly influenced the decision to terminate a pregnancy for the majority of women (57%).

“This has undoubtedly exacerbated an already downward trend in teenage conception, as more women and girls choose to have children later in life, or at all.”

The data also show a significant drop in under-18 conceptions in 2020, corresponding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stewart added: “We know from studies in European countries following the 2008 recession that young people are most likely to experience a decline in pregnancy in response to shocks and crises.

“Covid-19 has seen a forced decline in socialization, as well as a subsequent crisis in the cost of living. It meant teenagers were spending less time with each other and faced an increasingly uncertain financial future.”

Greater access to contraception and abortions may have contributed to the gradual decline in under-18 pregnancies.

More people under 25 are choosing long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) and more are having repeat abortions, according to government data collected from abortion clinics.

In addition, the overall abortion rate increased gradually from 2014 to 2022.

Support for abortion rights has strengthened, with 80% of people in London supporting abortion in May 2024, compared to just 11% who do not, according to YouGov data.

“Have Contraception and Access to Abortion Contributed to the Decline in Under-18 Conceptions? Absolutely,” said Alison Hadley OBE, Director of the Teenage Pregnancy Knowledge Exchange and Teenage Pregnancy Advisor at Public Health England.

Hadley led England’s teenage pregnancy strategy, which cost £280m over its ten-year implementation period from 1999 to 2010.

“Since the start of the teenage pregnancy strategy, inner London has seen an estimated 82% to 85% decrease in teenage conceptions from 1998 to 2021,” she said.

Hadley named Wandsworth, Croydon, Richmond and Merton as areas which have implemented particularly strong sex education programmes.

The boroughs are part of the London-wide condom scheme, aptly named ‘Come Correct’.

“This has been really important in engaging boys and young men in prevention, as well as girls and young women,” Hadley said.

In addition, from March 2020 women in England and Wales can take both the abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol at home without having to go to a hospital or clinic first. This was a temporary measure made permanent by parliament in March 2022.

Beyond access to contraception, abortion, and sex education, changing social norms may explain the decline in teen pregnancies.

Professor of public health evaluation at the University of Glasgow, Peter Craig, said: “The trends reflect wider social and economic trends, including changes in the way young people interact with each other and changing expectations about education and careers.”

However, in some areas of London, teenage pregnancy remains relatively high. According to the data, Croydon has the highest under-18 pregnancy rate in London in 2022.

Amy Foster, Croydon’s shadow cabinet member for children and young people, said: “Equitable access to healthcare is an issue in Croydon and we residents in the borough struggle to get GP appointments within days of call.

“It’s no different at our sexual health clinics, and queues for emergency appointments can be intimidating for many vulnerable people, including teenagers.

“Once again, it seems young people in Croydon are bearing the brunt of our challenging financial crisis and it’s clear that action needs to be taken by the National Government to improve the public health record in our borough.”

Causes of teenage pregnancies often include a lack of comprehensive sex and relationship education, limited access to contraceptives, and socio-economic factors such as poverty and economic instability.

Teenage pregnancy is associated with poor outcomes for young women and their children.

For mothers, there is a greater risk of low educational attainment, social isolation and poorer mental and physical health, while their babies are more likely to be born prematurely or with low birth weight, according to University of Pennsylvania research.

Hadley pointed out that it’s not entirely clear what the impact of COVID is on teen pregnancies, as data is only available from June 2022.

She said: “I worry about a cohort of young people who have been really affected by COVID at school.

“Some of them have not returned to education in years 10 and 11 and will accumulate risk factors for unplanned pregnancy – we know that school absence and poor attainment are two of the associated risk factors.

“Across the country they really need to look at the 15, 16 and 17-year-olds who may not be in mainstream education and may be a little adrift because of what’s happened through COVID.”

Although not all teenage conceptions are unplanned, teens remain at the highest risk of unplanned pregnancy., with more than half of conceptions under the age of 18 in England and Wales in 2017 ending in abortion, according to ONS data.

Hadley said: “The vast majority of those abortions were probably unplanned pregnancies. There is more to be done in trying to help young people prevent pregnancy in the first place.

“Obviously, abortion is an absolutely essential choice and easy access is essential, but avoiding pregnancy in the first place would be a better option.”

A spokesman for Croydon Council said: “Croydon has the largest youth population in London. We work with our partner organizations to support young people with their health and wellbeing.

“This includes Croydon Health Services’ sexual health team who are available to speak to them in schools and other local locations, including the Point Clinic, Turnaround Center and Family Hubs at various times of the week.

“We are also refreshing our teen pregnancy action plan to reduce teen conception rates and continue to build on the work already taking place to support and educate young people.”

Featured Image Credit: MarijoAH12 via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-4.0)