Teen Birth Rate Increased In 2006, Federal Interagency Report Find

Main Category: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 15 Jul 2008 - 9:00 PST

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

The U.S. teenage birth rate increased by 2.8% from 2005 to 2006, marking the first increase in the rate in 15 years, according to a report released Thursday by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics -- a consortium of 22 federal agencies, Bloomberg reports (Alesci, Bloomberg, 7/11). According to Edward Sondik, director of the National Center for Health Statistics, the birth rate increased from 21 births per every 1,000 girls ages 15 to 17 in 2005 to 22 births per every 1,000 girls of the same age group in 2006 (Reinberg, HealthDay/Washington Post, 7/11).

"This is a wake-up call," Jessica Shields, spokesperson for the National Campaign To Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, said, adding, "The issue hasn't been in the forefront of people's minds." Duane Alexander, director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, said that the teen birth rate in 2006 is a "red flag that something has gone wrong" (Bloomberg, 7/11).

Sondnik also noted that an increasing rate of low birthweight infants "continued unabated in 2006." About 8.3% of infants born in 2005 had low birthweights, compared with 8.2% for 2005 (HealthDay/Washington Post, 7/11). According to Bloomberg, a more detailed report on teen well-being will be published by the consortium next year (Bloomberg, 7/11).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

© 2008 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.