International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

Almost 20 per cent of girls who are sexually active have been pregnant at least once by the time they reach 18, according to a UK government survey.

More than a third (36 per cent) had a termination, while just under half (46 per cent) decided to keep their baby.

"We still have unacceptably high levels of teenage pregnancy in this country, although rates are at their lowest for 20 years," said Gill Frances, chair of the Teenage Pregnancy Independent Advisory Group.

She added that more needs to be done to help young people access contraception and identify those who are most at risk of falling pregnant early.

The survey revealed that three per cent of the girls surveyed had been pregnant at least three times.

According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, the number of teenage pregnancies in England and Wales fell by four per cent between 2007 and 2008.

The total number of under-18s falling pregnant dropped from 42,998 in 2007 to 41,325 in 2008.

Posted by Paul Robertson