Record numbers of women in their 40s are becoming pregnant, official figures revealed today.

The Office for National Statistics said that the conception rate for women aged over 40 rose by more that six per cent from 11.5 per 1,000 women in 2005, to 12.2 in 2006. However, there has been a fall in the number of teenagers getting pregnant.

The conception rate in England and Wales for all women aged 19 and over rose by nearly three per cent during that time from 76 to 78 conceptions per 1,000 women.

In Wolverhampton the number of mothers over 40 has risen dramatically from 57 in 2004/5 to 76 in 2006/7.

During the same period, the under-18 rate fell from 41.4 to 40.7 conceptions per 1,000 girls.

Although the UK’s teenage pregnancy rate is the highest in Western Europe, in recent years there has been a gentle fall.

The under-age conception rate also went down.

In 2006 it was 7.7 conceptions per 1,000 girls aged 13-15 compared with 7.8 in 2005, a decrease of one per cent.

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