Conception Rates Uncovered: Does Your Postcode Affect When You’re Going To Have Kids?

A new study has revealed exactly where women who are conceiving live, along with the areas where women get the highest number of abortions

In direct response to the question in the headline, no, of course it doesn’t. You can have children whenever, wherever (and if-ever) you want - that’s the beauty of living in a country which doesn’t require robots to fly in and give us abortions (bear with us, that really is a thing).

But there is new information out there by Superdrug, detailing the conception rates around the country – and it’s really, really interesting.

‘We decided to create this project to investigate the recent changes in the U.K. birth rate,’ explains a spokesperson for the brand. ‘What interested us most is that the conception rate for under-18s is at its lowest rate since 1969, and conception rates for women over 35 are continuing to increase.’

Highlighting how our approach to pregnancy has changed over the last ten years, the study shows that women in more built up areas appear to have lower rates of conception – alongside higher rates of abortion – revealing that having children really isn’t something that they want right now.

For women living in London, ten boroughs have the highest abortion rates in the whole country, although four of them (Westminster, Kensington, Chelsea and Lambeth) have some of the lowest conception rates in the city too – presumably suggesting that many of the women based there aren’t currently prioritizing children. (Except for the Duchess of Cambridge, that is.)

Similarly, the West Midlands (around Birmingham) and the North West (Manchester) both have the highest rates of both conception abortion outside of London.

Of course, this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise – we all know that there are currently more job opportunities in cities such as London and Manchester than in more rural areas, such as Wales. So it makes sense if women who are based there want to focus their careers instead of having kids.

But what’s really fascinating is that while the conception rate in London is falling overall, it's still rising elsewhere – specifically among women aged 35+. And that's what is leading experts to suggest that rising house prices in London are encouraging younger couples to move away from the city and into more rural areas before starting a family.

Which is kind of what we knew anyway, isn't it?

(Even if it isn't what this fertility expert wants.) 

You can see the full study, in all its geographical glory, here.