Are unplanned pregnancies in the UK that common?

Posted by Chaosblast@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 2 comments

We're Spanish and we're expecting a baby. Will have it in the UK, after 8 years here.

Upon sharing the news with our acquaintances in the UK, I'd say 100% have asked:

"Was it planned?"

We found that extremely surprising.

After thinking a bit, it is true that all of our acquaintances' pregnancies in the UK (small sample) have been unplanned.

For context: 0% of people we shared the news with in Spain asked us that question. And the total amount of people was much higher in Spain than in the UK.

In Spain, it would be VERY rare for anyone to ask this question.

  1. Since it feels invasive privacy-wise.
  2. A negative response shows irresponsibility. It has several negative connotations.
  3. I think it is a rare occurance for it to be unplanned. More common in low class or less educated families. I think every adult knows enough of how to prevent these, so I find it extremely hard to understand how this happens as often as it does (even if it's less in Spain).

To clarify. My point is not to compare the countries. That was just to share some info and my point of view in case someone finds it interesting.

The point of the post is to ask:

Is it that common in the UK to have an unplanned pregnancy?

Why is it that common?

Are there no negative connotations (mostly irresponsibility) about it here, and is that why people ask so often and openly?