‘Sister effect’ on pregnancy

Teenagers are more likely to get pregnant if their sister had a child as a teenager, Norwegian research reveals. The study of over 42,000 teenage girls shows the probability of a younger sister having a teenage pregnancy increased from one in five to two in five, if a sibling had a child as a teenager. The research looked at data from children born between 1947 and 1958 to compare families from a similar background from different regions of Norway. It also shows spending more time in school reduces the probability of a teenage pregnancy, but on a much smaller scale than the effect of a pregnant sister. The Family Planning Association said the results of the research are interesting but may not apply to the UK. Rebecca Findlay, from the association, said teenage pregnancy is ‘complicated’. ‘Social and economic deprivation and poor education all impact hugely onto it and we already know that being the daughter of a teenage mother is one of the contributing risk factors towards teenage pregnancy,’ she said.