The rate of pregnancies among under 18s in Caerphilly County Borough is at its lowest since records began, new figures show.
In 1998, when the Office for National Statistics first started compiling conception data by local authority, the pregnancy rate for young women aged between 15 and 17 was 70 per 1,000.
By 2016, the year covered by the latest statistics, that figure had shrunk to 19.
Natika Halil, chief executive of sexual health charity FPA, put the “dramatic fall in teenage pregnancy rates” down to hard work from health and education professionals.
She said: “Teenage pregnancy can be a result of many different factors, but we know it can be reduced by investing the right time, resources and expertise into services and education.”
In total, 58 young women under 18 became pregnant in Caerphilly in 2016.
Of these women 22, or 38%, chose to have an abortion.
The percentage of young mothers who chose to have an abortion was higher in the under 16 bracket.
The statistics covering under 16s have been merged into three year periods, as the annual figures are very small.
They show that between 2014 and 2016 there were 40 underage pregnancies, with 55% choosing to have an abortion.