Nearly 3,000 teenage pregnancies were recorded in Belgium in 2021, down 40% on 2011, Flemish association ABSL Fara estimates, based on of figures from the statistical office, Statbel, and the National Commission for the Evaluation of the Abortion Law.
In actual fact, 2.936 girls under 20 became pregnant in the country in 2021 (i.e. nine girls out of 1,000): 1,238 in Flanders, 1,305 in Wallonia and 393 in Brussels.
Slightly more than half of these young women chose to keep the child (1,393), while the 1,234 others opted for abortion. The outcome in the remaining 309 cases was unknown.
Seven out of 10 teenage mothers were aged 18 or 19 and almost three out of ten were between 15 and 17. Only a small number (1.6%) were 14 or under.
According to Kirsten Elen, a member of ASBL Fara, several factors explain this downward trend over the past 10 years. Among these, she points in particular to the “wide range of contraceptive methods in Belgium” and the inclusion of sex education in the latest levels of secondary education.
However, research into the profile of teenage mothers is still rare, and prejudices seem to persist. ASBL Fara, a non-profit organisation, and KULeuven are therefore launching a study into the educational and professional backgrounds of teenage mothers.
They are calling on mothers who became pregnant at a young age to respond to their questionnaire on the issue. The form will be available on ASBL Fara's website until the beginning of February.
