U.S. Teenage Birth Rate Lowest on Record

The federal government says that births to U.S. girls aged 15 to 19 continued to decline from the peak in 1991. Although some of the decrease is attributable to a documented increase in abortions, and perhaps to effective use of contraceptives (which cannot be documented), numerous studies have shown the effectiveness of abstinence education during this decades-long period.

"According to the CDC, fewer teens are having sexual intercourse."
-- Dr. Lawrence Friedman, Director of Adolescent Medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

For background, read Abstinence Education Yields Lowest Teen Birth Rate Ever and also read Teen Birth Rate Record Low for U.S. as well as Out-of-Wedlock Births: Majority for Moms Under 30

UPDATE 4/29/16: Feds Report Fewer Teen Births, but Still Too Many Minority Babies

UPDATE 1/20/12: Fed study shows contraceptives ineffective in lowering teen pregnancy

-- From "Birthrate for U.S. teens is lowest in history" by Sharon Jayson, USA TODAY 4/10/12

"Young people are being more careful," says Sarah Brown, CEO of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. She attributes the declines to less sex and increased use of contraception.

The report by the National Center for Health Statistics says the actual number of teen births in 2010 was the lowest since 1946. It credits "strong pregnancy prevention messages" and says contraceptive use "may have contributed."

The new numbers elaborate on federal data released in November that found the teen birthrate dropped 9% from 2009 to 2010, to a historic low of 34.3 births per 1,000 teens. That's down 44% from 61.8 in 1991. The all-time high was 96.3 during the Baby Boom year of 1957.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "US teen births: Mississippi has highest rate, New Hampshire lowest" by The Associated Press 4/10/12

Nearly every state saw a decline in teen births from 2007 to 2010, with the biggest drop in Arizona at 29 percent. Rates stayed about the same in three states: Montana, North Dakota and West Virginia.

The rate for teenage moms reached its lowest point since record-keeping began in 1940. The rate fell 9 percent to about 34 per 1,000 girls ages 15 through 19. The decline was seen among all racial and ethnic groups.

Since 1991, the overall teen rate has dropped by 44 percent.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Plunging birthrate of U.S. teens ‘amazing’" by Cheryl Wetzstein, Washington Times 4/10/12

It’s a “pretty amazing” set of trends, said Brady E. Hamilton, senior researcher and co-author of the Tuesday report from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), which provided state data and other details about the 2010 teen birthrates.

[Bill Albert, chief program officer for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, said] “More teens are delaying sexual activity, which is a good and responsible thing to do. And those teenagers who are having sex are using contraception better.”

Birthrates also fell for each race and ethnic group. In three groups of teens - blacks, American Indians, and Alaska Natives and Asian and Pacific Islanders - the 2010 rates were more than 50 percent lower than the 1991 peak.

Teen birthrates also have fallen in every age group. The 2010 rate for the vulnerable 10-to-14 age group reached a record low of 0.4 births per 1,000.

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From "Teen Births Hit All-Time Low" by Jennifer Warner, WebMD Health News 4/10/12

The drop in the teen birth rate from 2009-2010 included teens from all ages and ethnic groups. But there are still some gaps.

Researchers say some of the variation in teen birth rates between states may reflect racial and ethnic differences.

For example, 2010 teen birth rates ranged from:

Asian or Pacific Islanders: 10.9 births per 1,000 teens
Whites: 23.5 per 1,000 teens
American Indian or Alaska native: 38.7 per 1,000 teens
African-Americans: 51.5 per 1,000 teens
Hispanic: 55.7 per 1,000 teens

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read To Cut Costs, Lower Birth Rate, Says White House