New research suggests that teenage pregnancy between sisters is 'contagious'.
New research suggests that teenage pregnancy between sisters is 'contagious'.
The study of more than 42,000 Norwegian teens indicates that they are more likely to become pregnant if there older sister had a baby as a teenager.
"Sisters generally spend more time together than schoolmates or friends and so sisters are likely to be influence by the behaviour of their siblings," the report said.
This was found to more likely occur when the sisters were of a similar age or from a poorer background.
The Family Planning Association said the results may not necessarily apply to the UK but were still interesting.
The researchers said the probability of the younger sister having a teenage pregnancy went from one in five to two in five if the elder sibling had a baby as a teen.
One od the researchers, Professor Carol Propper, described this as 'the contagious effect of teen motherhood."
Femalefirst Taryn Davies