Express & Star

Wolverhampton teenage pregnancy rate way ahead of UK average

Teenage pregnancies in some areas of Wolverhampton are more than twice the national average, a public health report has revealed.

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Figures show that 16 out of 20 wards in the city have a higher than national average for conceptions for under 18 year olds – and some are more than double the rate for England and Wales.

The startling statistics have come to light in a public health report which will be discussed by the council’s cabinet.

It gives a snapshot of the health of each ward in the city, including life expectancy rates, childhood obesity and the number of residents in nursing and care homes.

It also reveals Wolverhampton’s life expectancy rate is on average two years lower than the national figure for both women and men.

The report shows only four wards have a lower teenage pregnancy rate of 18.9 conceptions per thousand women, the national average for England and Wales.

The wards with the lowest rate in the city are Tettenhall Regis with 7.2, Penn at 10.1 , Tettenhall Wightwick 12.3 and Spring Vale at 18.5.

In comparison, East Park with 55.5 has nearly three times the national average.

Bushbury South and Low Hill recorded a rate of 49.0 and Bilston North 40.4

Although the report gives no explanation for the widely varying rates between wards, it does record those areas with the highest rates tend to be the poorest in the city.

Acknowledging deprivation is an important factor in the health, former Cabinet Member for Public Health councillor Paul Sweet writes in the report’s foreword: “This report demonstrates the inequality in outcomes that persist in our city and a key challenge going forward will be to reduce these levels of inequality as much as possible.”

The report will now be discussed at a meeting of the council’s cabinet on June 6.