What's The Best Age To Become A Mum?

If Health Experts Can’t Decide, How Can You?

- Frances Leate

Twenty years ago, Britain had the dubious honour of being crowned the teen-pregnancy capital of Western Europe. Back then, in 1998, there were 47.1 pregnancies for every 1,000 women under 18 – a figure many felt was scandalous.

Fast-forward to 2010, and that figure was continuing to rocket – as was social disapproval.

Concerned, the Government launched a campaign to tackle the number of teen pregnancies.

Sex education in schools was improved, and further health services offering contraception and family planning advice were funded.

‘Teenage pregnancy ruins lives,’ cried the politicians, who emphasised the risks to the health of young mums and their babies, as well as the social impact, claiming teen pregnancies are often linked to problems such as poor housing and a reliance on State benefits.

The general consensus was that young mothers, particularly those still of school age, were simply not emotionally or financially ready to become parents.

The campaign turned out to be a huge success.

Just eight years after its launch, teenage pregnancy in the UK is now at an all-time low, with just 21 in 1,000 women under 18 getting pregnant, according to the Office for National Statistics.

And now the concern about the age of mums has flipped – with fertility experts warning women of the dangers of starting a family ‘too late.’