NEW figures show the rate of pregnancies among under 18s is at record lows in parts of Gwent.

The rate in Newport, Monmouthshire and Torfaen has more than halved since records began, while in Blaenau Gwent and Caerphilly the figure is at its lowest ever.

Health experts say the downward trend reflects an “integrated approach” being undertaken with the work of schools and the health board paying off.

In 1998, when the Office for National Statistics (ONS) first started compiling conception data by local authority, the pregnancy rate for young women aged between 15 and 17 was 58.1 per 1,000 in Newport.

By 2016, the year covered by the latest statistics, that figure had dropped to 25.7.

Numerous local authorities across England and Wales saw under 18 pregnancy rates reach record lows.

In Newport the year with the lowest rate was 2015, with 18.6 per 1,000.

The rate in Blaenau Gwent is the lowest since record began at 17 per 1,000 in the latest figures.

It was previously 74 per 1,000 for young women aged between 15 and 17 .

In Caerphilly, the rate is also at its lowest ever, at 19 per 1,000. The pregnancy rate for women aged between 15 and 17 was 70 per 1,000 in 1998.

In Torfaen the year with the lowest rate was also 2015, with 20.2 per 1,000. When the ONS first started compiling data, the rate for young women was 67.1 per 1,000 in the authority.

Meanwhile in Monmouthshire the year with the lowest rate was 2015, with 8.4 per 1,000, a fall from 32 per 1,000 when the ONS first started compiling date.

A spokesman for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said: “The latest ONS data on under 18 teenage conceptions shows that the long-term downward trend in teenage conceptions is continuing. The pattern is seen across the five local authority areas in Gwent.

“As teenage pregnancy rates tend to be higher in more deprived areas, it is encouraging to see that the data indicates that the largest fall has been in Blaenau Gwent and Caerphilly.

“The downward trend reflects the integrated approach being undertaken and the huge amount of work across sectors, for example to raise aspirations in young people, provide relationships and sex education in schools, promote sexual health and healthy choices, as well as providing appropriate and accessible sexual health and contraceptive services.”