Forty and
pregnant
W
hen you think
of abortion, it
tends to conjure
up the image
of a distraught
teenage girl,
naïvely caught out after having sex just a
handful of times without contraception.
But the latest figures reveal that in
2011, some 8,500 women aged between
40 and 45 ended up having abortions;
and 24 women over the age of 50 did
the same. That’s an increase in the last
two decades of around 50% in women
THE ABORTION RATE FOR WOMEN AGED
4045 HAS INCREASED DRAMATICALLY IN
RECENT YEARS. WE INVESTIGATE WHY…
over 40. This may have something to
do with the fact that pregnancies in the
over-40s have also increased – by more
than 15% in the last five years. It’s the
biggest rise in any age group and is
partly because more women are putting
parenting on hold while they establish
themselves in a career, become more
financially stable and find the perfect
partner. Some experts say this dramatic
rise reflects increased sexual activity
among older women, and the fact that
there are more single women and
divorcées in their 40s or over, who >
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of At Home with Lorraine Kelly 2013