West Virginia Teenage Birth Rate Increases For First Time In Eight Years

Main Category: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 18 Jul 2008 - 7:00 PST

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Similar to a national trend, the teenage birth rate in West Virginia has increased for the first time in eight years, the Charleston Daily Mail reports. According to the Daily Mail, 2,602 teenagers gave birth in 2006, compared with 2,472 in 2005 (Anderson, Charleston Daily Mail, 7/15).

Denise Smith, director of the state Department of Health and Human Resources' family planning program, said that recent studies have found an increase in the rate of teen pregnancies and a leveling off of condom use -- serving as reminders for public health officials. "It kind of warns us not to get complacent and there's still a big job to be done," Smith said (AP/Huntington Herald-Dispatch, 7/16).

West Virginia provides educational resources about teen pregnancy to young people beginning in middle school through the state Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Initiative program. From Jan. 1, 2007, to June 30, 2007, the program conducted 296 presentations on teen pregnancy to more than 13,169 students. Smith said that with only four coordinators, the program's outreach is limited. She added that increased media attention to celebrity pregnancies have somewhat "glamorized" pregnancy and hurt efforts to reduce the rate among teens.

Bill Albert, chief program officer for the National Campaign To Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, said that as the influence of the media increases, the influence of parents is fading. Smith said she also is witnessing less protective influences in teens' lives, with fewer family and community members teaching them how to avoid getting pregnant by encouraging responsible behaviors. Albert pointed to federal funding for abstinence-only education and strict rules banning discussion of contraception in schools as factors for the increasing teen pregnancy rate (Charleston Daily Mail, 7/15).

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