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The late 1960s and early 1970s saw major changes in access to birth control. This article reviews trends in fertility and contraception between 1976 when the Family Formation Survey was undertaken and 1998, the latest year for which data are available. There has been an increase in mean age at childbirth over the period. Some of this increase is possibly a result of childbearing in second and subsequent relationships when the women will be older on average. This also has had an impact on their patterns of contraception use. Teenage pregnancy is high on the Government's agenda. Teenage pregnancy continues at constant levels. As the estimated age of first intercourse decreases, there is a continued need for sufficient, accessible and appropriate family planning services.

Teenage mothers continue to present challenges to social policy and remain of topical interest to the media. This article discusses trends in teenage conception rates, their outcomes and long term consequences. In 1996, 7 per cent of all births were to girls aged under 20. On average children born to teenage girls have lower birthweights, increased risk of infant mortality and an increased risk of some congenital anomalies. They are less likely to be breastfed and more likely to live in deprived circumstances. These factors in turn influence their health and long term opportunities.

On 18 October 1995, the Committee on Safety of Medicines issued a warning that seven brands of the contraceptive pill (containing 'new generation' progestogens) carried a relatively higher risk of thrombosis (the formation of a blood clot in a vein). This warning received much attention from the media. Family planning services and others working in public health raised concerns that the pill scare would result in an increase in unplanned pregnancies. This article uses national conception statistics to show trends before and after October 1995.

The size of the child population of the United Kingdom, and the size and type of families and homes children live in, are described in this article. Data are presented on childcare and education, and from the various surveys undertaken into children's diet, height, weight, exercise and health. The problems and behaviour which can affect health are also discussed prior to a concluding discussion on the major causes of death and morbidity, and the welcome reduction in childrens' mortality.

The health of our children, the second in OPCS's latest series of decennial supplements, brings together data from a wide variety of sources to paint a picture of the lifestyle and health of British children in the 1970s and 1980s. This review presents the main findings from the volume.