The changing face of British mothers: Fascinating charts show the fall in teenage pregnancy rates, the rise in over-40 pregnancy rates and how child marriage is slowly falling out of fashion

A catalog of official data shows how much the face of motherhood has changed in recent decades.

Pregnancies among women over 40 have risen to the highest level since records began before the turn of the century.

Yet attitudes among teenagers have fallen over the same period, despite a slight increase over the past year.

Over the past decade, the traditional view of premarital marriage has slowly fallen out of fashion, with two-thirds of pregnancies in England and Wales now illegal.

The latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that 824,983 conceptions were registered in the two countries in 2021 – the first increase in six years.

The latest data from the Office for National Statistics shows that 523,513 conceptions occurred outside marriage or civil partnership, while 301,470 occurred within marriage.

Compared to 2011 and 2021, women under the age of 25 saw a decrease in the number of extramarital or registered partnerships. Women aged 25 and over recorded an increase in conceptions outside of marriage or civil partnership

In 2021 there were 824,983 pregnancies for women of all ages in England and Wales – the first increase in six years. ONS figures also showed the rate of conceptions leading to legal abortions peaked at 26.5 per cent in 2021, up from 25.3 per cent in 2020

The figures also show that the pregnancy rate for women aged 40 and over has continued to rise and is now at a peak of 17.3 pregnancies per 1,000 women.

More than 33,000 were among those of “maternal age” – the highest number on record, with the conception rate set to rise to 17.3 per 1,000 over-40s by 2021.

Experts believe the increase in older women getting pregnant is due to putting off having children until later in life while they pursue careers, as well as advances in IVF and other fertility treatments.

Doctors often warn women not to wait too late to have children. They emphasize that fertility declines with age and the risk of complications, including stillbirth, increases.

Experts estimate that women in their late 40s have only a 1 in 20 chance of becoming pregnant due to a reduced supply of eggs, which are less likely to be fertilized.

The British Fertility Society has previously warned that celebrities who have children in their 40s are giving women false hope about late motherhood.

Demand for donor eggs, one of the most common ways older women can have a baby, has soared in recent years.

Read more: Can medicine for lung patients help older women have babies? The most promising new treatments to help expectant mothers conceive – from ‘growth shots’ to probiotics and egg boosters for IVF

Other options include IVF, when the woman still has some of her own eggs, or intrauterine insemination, where sperm is placed directly into the uterus using a catheter. Fertility drugs and surgery are two other options.

Women aged 30 to 34 had the highest number of pregnancies for the fifth consecutive year, with a record 249,073, according to the ONS.

This age group also had the highest conception rate of 116.2 per 1,000 women in this cohort and the lowest conception rate leading to an abortion.

About 43,116 conceptions were recorded among teenage girls in 2021, slightly more than the 42,093 in 2020.

But that’s still less than half the number for this group a decade ago, from 30.9 conceptions per 1,000 women in 2011 to 13.2 per 1,000 in 2021.

Of all age groups, those under 16 experienced the largest percentage change in conception rates between 2011 and 2021 – a drop of 4.6 percent.

In this age group, there were 2.1 pregnancies per 1,000 women in 2021, compared to 6.1 pregnancies per 1,000 in 2011.

Experts have suggested that teenage pregnancy rates have fallen as more Britons transition to better sex education, college and university attendance, later sexual experiences and less affordable housing.

This cohort also had the highest rate of conceptions leading to pregnancy termination (59.8 percent).

The rate has increased for all ages overall since 2015, peaking at 26.5 percent in 2021, up from 25.3 percent in 2020.

Regionally, London has seen the biggest drop in conception among women aged 15 to 44 over the past decade, down 20.9 per cent since 2009.

The West Midlands recorded the highest conception rate at 78.1 conceptions per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44, while the South West recorded the lowest at 64.6 conceptions per 1,000 women.

Women under 16 remained the age group with the lowest number of pregnancies and the highest rate of pregnancies leading to termination of pregnancy. More than half (59.8 percent) of all pregnancies in people under the age of 16 ended in an abortion

Regionally, London has seen the steepest fall in pregnancies among women aged 15 to 44 over the past decade, down 20.9 per cent since 2009. The West Midlands has 78.1 pregnancies per 1,000 women aged 12 15 to 44 seen, the highest number of conceptions. while the South West recorded the lowest with 64.6 conceptions per 1,000 women

While the pregnancy rate for women of all ages in England and Wales has risen for the first time in six years, ONS data also suggests it is the lowest overall pregnancy rate since 2001, at 71.5 per 1,000 women by 2021.

The ONS noted that the national Covid lockdown and restrictions, which began in 2020 and were gradually eased in 2021, may have had an impact on the behavior of some people in different regions and therefore ‘the overall number of conceptions and conception rates can influence’ .

ONS conception data for 2020 showed pregnancy rates in England and Wales fell to a 17-year low in the first year of the pandemic.

It came despite projections of a baby boom as couples were forced to spend more time together indoors.

Siân Bradford, Senior Research Fellow in Child Health at the ONS, said: “Today’s release provides further insight into conception rates during the coronavirus pandemic, when lockdowns and restrictions may have affected behaviour.

“We are seeing pregnancy rates in England and Wales rise for the first time since 2015, reaching an all-time high for women aged 30 to 34 and for women aged 40 and over.”

She added: “Interestingly, our data shows a higher conception rate among unmarried or non-cohabiting women.

“Despite a higher abortion rate, unmarried or cohabiting women still have a higher rate of pregnancies resulting in motherhood.

“Further work is needed to determine whether this represents a trend reversal.”