Recent Trends in Teenage Pregnancy in England and Wales

Abstract

Summary Data published annually by the Registrar General for England and Wales indicate that over the past 10 years the numbers of births—and, since 1968, of legal therapeutic abortions—to teenagers have increased substantially. During much of the same period the fertility of older women declined. This paper examines the recent demographic trends in teenage pregnancy, and compares the fertility of these teenagers with that of older women.