Teen pregnancy rate in Scotland falls but misses target

Pregnancy rates in under 18s and under 20s are going down

A target set by the Scottish government to reduce teenage pregnancies has been missed, although the rate has fallen for the fourth year in a row.

In 2010 the number of pregnancies in under-16s was 7.1 per 1,000 girls - narrowly missing the aim of 6.8 per 1,000.

NHS Fife had the highest teenage pregnancy rate for both the under-16s - at 9.2 - and under-18s - at 47.7.

The highest rate for under-20s was in NHS Ayrshire & Arran at 59.7 per 1,000.

Scotland has a higher rate of teenage pregnancy than most other western European countries.

<link> <caption>The newly published statistics</caption> <url href="http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Sexual-Health/Publications/index.asp#712" platform="highweb"/> </link> show progress was made in the older age groups.

The Scotland-wide pregnancy rate among under-18s dropped from 37.3 per 1,000 in 2009, to 35.9 per 1,000 in 2010, and among the under-20s, from 52.9 per 1,000 to 50.2 per 1,000.