Teen Birth Rate Increases In 26 States In 2006; Rates Highest In South

Main Category: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 09 Jan 2009 - 1:00 PST

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Teen birth rates increased in 26 states in 2006, according to federal data released on Wednesday by the National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA Today reports. According to USA Today, the data show "widespread statistically significant increases for 2006, the most recent year for which data are available." By contrast, only one state had a significant increase in each of the two previous periods -- from 2004 to 2005 and from 2003 to 2004. According to the report, the data show that the birth rate in 2006 among women ages 15 to 19 increased 3% to 41.9 births per 1,000 women. The new report adds to previously released data from NCHS showing that 2006 marked the end of a 34% decline in births among women ages 15 to 19 from 1991 to 2005. According to the new report, the South and Southwest regions had the highest rates of teen births, with Mississippi reporting 68.4 per 1,000 young women, followed by New Mexico with a rate of 64.1 and Texas with 63.1. Teen birth rates were lowest in the Northeast, and New Hampshire had the lowest rate nationwide at 18.7 per 1,000 young women. Teen birth rates declined in New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C. Paul Sutton, a demographer at NCHS said, "We're seeing increases in both the number of teens having births and also the rate at which they are having births."

According to USA Today, the state-by-state data suggest that the increase in teen births "is geographically broad-based and represents most regions" of the country. Observers previously believed that 2007 data would be necessary to determine if the higher teen birth rates in 2006 marked a new trend. However, Kristin Moore, a senior scholar at the not-for-profit research center Child Trends, said that the new state-by-state data bring credence to the idea that 2006 marked a reversal of the 14-year trend of declining teen births. Moore, who has tracked the teen birth rate for 30 years, noted that the increase occurred across teens of different ages, races and states of residence. She added, "It appears to be quite the general pattern, which makes me think it might not be a blip but a turnaround" (Jayson, USA Today, 1/7).

The AP/Google.com reports that some experts attribute the rise in teen births to the Bush administration's increase of federal funding for abstinence-only education programs that do not teach teens how to use contraception, which "would explain why teen birth rate increases have been detected across much of the country and not just in a few spots." However, conservative groups argue that comprehensive sex education is still common and that the higher teen birth rates indicate that such programs are failing, the AP/Google.com reports (Stobbe, AP/Google.com, 1/7). Stephanie Ventura, chief of reproductive statistics at NCHS, said, "Some people may speculate there's 'prevention fatigue' out there." She added, "Perhaps teens aren't paying attention anymore to prevention programs, or have changed their attitude. Maybe prevention programs need to change. But we don't have any statistics about that" (Harper, Washington Times, 1/8).

David Landry, a researcher at the Guttmacher Institute, said many factors affect teen pregnancy rates, including culture, poverty and racial demographics. "It's more costly for youth in the Northeast to have a teen birth than for youth in the South, in terms of opportunities they'll miss," he said (AP/Google.com, 1/7). It will remain unclear exactly how abortion relates to the teen birth data until late 2009 or early 2010, when the Guttmacher Institute is expected to release 2006 abortion data, according to USA Today. Sarah Brown, CEO of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, said she believes it is unlikely that abortion affected the teen birth rate. She added that high-profile births to teen celebrities or in movies can make a strong impression on teens (USA Today, 1/7). Janice Crouse, executive director of Concerned Women for America's Beverly LaHaye Institute, an organization of conservative women, cited an atmosphere of sexual tolerance, especially on college campuses, and society for "glamorizing" teen pregnancy (Tandler, McClatchy/Belleville News Democrat, 1/7).

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