According to surveys, most UK teenagers would avoid pregnancy, and many teenage pregnancies are a mistake. Nevertheless, around 56,000 babies are born to teenage mothers in the UK every year.

to see how the rate of teenage pregnancy in the UK compares with some of our European neighbours.

for an Excel spreadsheet of birth rates amongst 15-19 year olds across Europe in the mid-1990s.

• Do you notice any trends between different parts of Europe?
• Are there any exceptions to these overall trends?

Rates of teenage pregnancy vary within the UK too. According to the Family Policy Studies Centre, women in poor inner city areas are six times more likely to get pregnant by the time they are 20 than in wealthier areas.

Teenagers get pregnant for many reasons. Click on the letters to find out some of them...
which ones do you think are the most important?

In 1999, the UK government announced plans to halve the rate of teenage pregnancy by 2010. Reproductive health care is seen as an important way of reaching this target without treating pregnant teenagers as bad or stupid. Instead, with effective reproductive health care, young people can learn the different choices available to prevent pregnancy if they choose to, and teenage parents can receive the support that they need.

In Recife, Brazil and Lusaka, Zambia new reproductive health care projects involve young people more directly instead of telling them what to think or do

to find out how teenagers are becoming more involved in reproductive health care in Lincolnshire.

Since 1999, the under-18 pregnancy rate has fallen to its lowest level since 1995. But there is still a long way to go before the government reaches its target.