Teen pregnancies up

Teenage pregnancies are on the increase in Cornwall, according to latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS.)

The new statistics show that pregancy amongst the county's 15-17 year olds has increased steadily in the past three years, despite a fall in teen pregancies in England and Wales as a whole.

In 2008 almost one girl a day fell pregnant in the county and the rate of conceptions has seen a 3% increase since 2006.

Cornwall still beats the UK average however, with almost 36 out of every 1000 women aged under 18 conceiving in 2008 compared to the nationwide figure of almost 41.

Increase

The ONS statistics show there were an estimated 887,800 conceptions among women of all age groups in England and Wales in 2008, a decrease of 0.9% on the 2007 figure of 895,900.

The North East had the highest under-18 conception rate in 2008, with 49 per 1,000 women age 15-17 falling pregnant

The number of teenage pregnancies in England and Wales fell in 2008 but the government is unlikely to meet its aim made in 1999 to halve teenage pregnancies in England by 2010.