TEEN pregnancies in Wales are at its lowest rate since 1998 according to new data released by the office of National Statistics, with significant decreases in each of the Gwent counties in the same time.

In 1998 Newport ranked 66 out of 346 places across England and Wales with a rate of 58.1 per thousand women aged 15 to 17giving birth.

But this dropped significantly in 2012 with just 30.8 per thousand teen women giving birth, ranking Newport as 109th out of 346 places.

In 1998 in Monmouthshire a rate of 32.0 per thousand teens gave birth. But in 2012 this dropped to 20.6 per thousand.

In Torfaen, in 1998, 67.1 per thousand teen women gave birth, ranking the borough as 26th out of 346 places.

But in 2012, just 30.2 per thousand gave birth in the borough, ranking it at a significantly lower 118th from 346.

In 1998 Caerphilly had a rate of 70.3 per thousand teenage women giving birth. But in 2012 this had fallen considerably to 26.3 per thousand.

Blaenau Gwent had a rate of 74.4 per thousand teens aged 15 to 17 giving birth, ranking it 11th out of 346 – the highest in Gwent in 1998.

But in 2012 it ranked 21 out of 346 with 39.9 per thousand women giving birth – a significant decrease.

Findings show the under 18 conception rate for 2012 is the lowest since 1969, at 27.9 conceptions per thousand women aged 15 to 17.

The estimated number of conceptions for women aged under 18 also fell to 27,834 in 2012, compared with 31,051 in 2011, a decrease of 10 per cent.

The estimated number of conceptions in women aged under 16 was 5,432 in 2012, compared with 5,991 in 2011.