Fall in conception rate among women in Nottinghamshire

The Office for National Statistics figures show there were 10,095 conceptions in Nottinghamshire in 2021, up from 10,084 the year before.

However, the rate dropped slightly from 70.1 conceptions per 1,000 women in 2020 to 69.7 in 2021.

Across England and Wales, there were nearly 825,000 pregnancies in 2021, up from 818,000 in 2020 and the first increase in the number of conceptions in the last six years.

However, the rate of conceptions has been declining throughout the same period from 78.3 per 1,000 women in 2015 to 71.5 in 2021.

Of the conceptions in Nottinghamshire in 2021, 25.4 per cent led to an abortion, the highest level in the past decade.

A British Pregnancy Advisory Service spokeswoman said the coronavirus pandemic, and the Government response to it, had a clear impact on women’s pregnancy choices.

She said: “Faced with economic challenges and job insecurity, women and their partners had to make sometimes tough decisions around continuing or ending a pregnancy.

“Unfortunately, financial struggles and a lack of government support continue to force women to choose between ending an otherwise wanted pregnancy or plunging their families into great hardship.”

BPAS said there is no “right number of abortions”, but there is more the Government can do to ensure women make the right decision for themselves when faced with an unplanned pregnancy.

The figures show there were 194 conceptions among women aged under 18 in Nottinghamshire, 15.1 per 1,000 for the age group. About 42.8 per cent resulted in an abortion.

Siân Bradford, ONS child health senior research officer, said the data reveals a higher conception rate among women who were unmarried or in a civil partnership for the first time since records began.

She said: “Despite a higher percentage of abortions, women who were not married or in a civil partnership still have a higher number of conceptions leading to maternity. Further work will be needed to establish whether this marks a change in trend.”

The conception rate for women outside of marriage or civil partnership across the two nations rose from 73.4 per 1,000 women in 2011 to 75.1 in 2021.

Meanwhile, the conception rate for women within marriage or civil partnership decreased from 91.6 per 1,000 women to 72.2.