TEENAGE pregnancies in West Dunbartonshire have dropped drastically in the past 15 years, recent figures show.

According to statistics from the Information Services Division (ISD), which collects data about the NHS in Scotland, numbers have plummeted since 2006.

The total number of women under the age of 20 who have fallen pregnant in West Dunbartonshire has roughly halved, from 185 to 93 in the two years between 2015 and 2017.

The number of children under the age of 16 who have reported to the NHS as being pregnant has fallen even further, from 42 between 2006 and 2008 to just 12 at the most recent count.

Which represents a fall of 71 per cent in 11 years.

Figures for West Dunbartonshire remain relatively close to the Scottish average in 2017, with 2.8 women per 1,000 in the whole of Scotland under the age of 16 becoming pregnant, compared to 2.9 in West Dunbartonshire, and 18.4 women per 1,000 nationally having a child compared to 18.1 locally.

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However, the number of recorded pregnancies in women younger than 20 in West Dunbartonshire is significantly higher than the rest of the country, being recorded as 39.5 per 1,000 women in the WDC area, compared to just 30.2 in the whole of Scotland in 2017.

Commenting on the findings, Scottish Government public health minister Joe Fitzpatrick said: “It is encouraging to see a fall in the rates of teenage pregnancy for the 10th successive year.

“This reduction means rates are the lowest since monitoring began in 1994.

“I’m particularly pleased that the gap in teenage pregnancy rates between the most and least deprived areas is narrowing too.

“We have taken significant action in this area and are working with partners to further support young people around both pregnancy and parenthood.

“This includes the introduction of our ‘Pregnancy and Parenthood in Young People Strategy’ in 2016, which aims to address the cycle of deprivation associated with pregnancy in young people and ensure services put young people at the centre of decision-making, helping them to achieve their potential as young people and as parents.”