Tuesday, April 10, 2012 11:16:46 PM
Teen births hit new low as pregnancy prevention programs pay off
Afton Tarin, seen in this 2005 photograph, gave birth to Aisley when she was 17. She says contraceptive education could have delayed her pregnancy.
(Don Kelsen/Los Angeles Times / April 10, 2012)
By Michael Muskal
April 10, 2012, 10:52 a.m.
Teen births have fallen to record lows in the United States, continuing an overall trend -- partly due to programs aimed at preventing pregnancies among teenagers, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [ http://www.latimes.com/topic/health/diseases-illnesses/u.s.-centers-for-disease-control-prevention-ORGOV000011.topic ] reported on Tuesday.
The U.S. teen birth rate declined 9% from 2009 to 2010, reaching 34.3 births per 1,000 women ages 15-19, the CDC reported [ http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db89.htm ]. From 1991 through 2010, the rate dropped by 44%.
Teen child-bearing has been generally on a long-term decline in the United States since the late 1950s, but the United States continues to have one of the highest such rates among industrialized countries. Teen mothers and their offspring have more health risks than older women and their offspring, adding about $10.9 billion to public health costs each year, the agency said.
The highest rate was again recorded in Mississippi at 55 births per 1,000 teenagers. But even there, the rate has fallen by 21% over three years, according to the data.
The lowest rate was in New Hampshire, 15.7 births per 1,000.
Nearly every state saw a decline in teen births from 2007 to 2010, with the biggest drop, 29%, in Arizona. Rates stayed about the same in three states: Montana, North Dakota and West Virginia.
In general, rates tended to be highest in the South and Southwest and lowest in the Northeast and Upper Midwest, a pattern that has persisted for many years, the data showed.
Fewer babies were born to teenagers in 2010 than in any year since 1946. If the teen birth rates observed in 1991 had not declined through 2010, there would have been an estimated 3.4 million additional births to teens during 1992–2010.
The declines have generally been attributed to the increase of pregnancy prevention messages directed at teenagers. Recently released data [ http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_031.pdf ] from the National Survey of Family Growth, conducted by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, have shown increased use of contraception at first initiation of sex and use of dual methods of contraception.
Copyright © 2012, Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-teen-births-20120410,0,5771857.story [with comments]
===
U.S. Teen Births Hit Record Low
Apr. 10, 2012
The number of American teens giving birth has dropped to an all-time low, federal health officials reported Tuesday.
"There has been a phenomenal drop in the last two years," said report lead author Brady Hamilton, a statistician with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Vital Statistics. "It went down 9 percent between 2009 and 2010 and that's big."
[...]
Fewer babies were born to teens in 2010 than in any year since 1946. If the drop in teen births hadn't occurred, there would have been an estimated 3.4 million more births to teens from 1992 to 2010, the report said.
Despite these declines, the U.S. teen birth rate is still among the highest among industrialized countries, according to the report.
In looking to explain the dramatic drop in teen births in the last two decades, Hamilton said there's evidence that messages about sexual practices and the use of contraceptives have been successful.
"This is good news because it allows girls to have the opportunity to devote time toward education and preparing for adulthood," he said.
[...]
Dr. Lawrence Friedman, director of adolescent medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, called the new report "excellent news" and said it "represents the ongoing positive trend in the reduction of teen births."
According to the CDC, fewer teens are having sexual intercourse, Friedman said.
But Friedman said: "That doesn't mean there is less sexual activity. There's plenty of sexual activity -- oral sex and mutual masturbation and other things that don't produce pregnancies."
There's also increased use of contraception, Friedman said. "In addition, there is more awareness of the negative effects of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases," he said.
http://www.philly.com/philly/health/HealthDay663596_20120410_U_S__Teen_Births_Hit_Record_Low.html [with comments]
===
Teen Pregnancies Highest In States With Abstinence-Only Policies
Apr 10, 2012
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/04/10/461402/teen-pregnancy-sex-education/ [with comments]
===
Once Again – Conservative States Lead In Teen Pregnancies
April 10, 2012
http://lezgetreal.com/2012/04/once-again-conservative-states-lead-in-teen-pregnancies/ [no comments yet]
Afton Tarin, seen in this 2005 photograph, gave birth to Aisley when she was 17. She says contraceptive education could have delayed her pregnancy.
(Don Kelsen/Los Angeles Times / April 10, 2012)
By Michael Muskal
April 10, 2012, 10:52 a.m.
Teen births have fallen to record lows in the United States, continuing an overall trend -- partly due to programs aimed at preventing pregnancies among teenagers, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [ http://www.latimes.com/topic/health/diseases-illnesses/u.s.-centers-for-disease-control-prevention-ORGOV000011.topic ] reported on Tuesday.
The U.S. teen birth rate declined 9% from 2009 to 2010, reaching 34.3 births per 1,000 women ages 15-19, the CDC reported [ http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db89.htm ]. From 1991 through 2010, the rate dropped by 44%.
Teen child-bearing has been generally on a long-term decline in the United States since the late 1950s, but the United States continues to have one of the highest such rates among industrialized countries. Teen mothers and their offspring have more health risks than older women and their offspring, adding about $10.9 billion to public health costs each year, the agency said.
The highest rate was again recorded in Mississippi at 55 births per 1,000 teenagers. But even there, the rate has fallen by 21% over three years, according to the data.
The lowest rate was in New Hampshire, 15.7 births per 1,000.
Nearly every state saw a decline in teen births from 2007 to 2010, with the biggest drop, 29%, in Arizona. Rates stayed about the same in three states: Montana, North Dakota and West Virginia.
In general, rates tended to be highest in the South and Southwest and lowest in the Northeast and Upper Midwest, a pattern that has persisted for many years, the data showed.
Fewer babies were born to teenagers in 2010 than in any year since 1946. If the teen birth rates observed in 1991 had not declined through 2010, there would have been an estimated 3.4 million additional births to teens during 1992–2010.
The declines have generally been attributed to the increase of pregnancy prevention messages directed at teenagers. Recently released data [ http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_031.pdf ] from the National Survey of Family Growth, conducted by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, have shown increased use of contraception at first initiation of sex and use of dual methods of contraception.
Copyright © 2012, Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-teen-births-20120410,0,5771857.story [with comments]
===
U.S. Teen Births Hit Record Low
Apr. 10, 2012
The number of American teens giving birth has dropped to an all-time low, federal health officials reported Tuesday.
"There has been a phenomenal drop in the last two years," said report lead author Brady Hamilton, a statistician with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Vital Statistics. "It went down 9 percent between 2009 and 2010 and that's big."
[...]
Fewer babies were born to teens in 2010 than in any year since 1946. If the drop in teen births hadn't occurred, there would have been an estimated 3.4 million more births to teens from 1992 to 2010, the report said.
Despite these declines, the U.S. teen birth rate is still among the highest among industrialized countries, according to the report.
In looking to explain the dramatic drop in teen births in the last two decades, Hamilton said there's evidence that messages about sexual practices and the use of contraceptives have been successful.
"This is good news because it allows girls to have the opportunity to devote time toward education and preparing for adulthood," he said.
[...]
Dr. Lawrence Friedman, director of adolescent medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, called the new report "excellent news" and said it "represents the ongoing positive trend in the reduction of teen births."
According to the CDC, fewer teens are having sexual intercourse, Friedman said.
But Friedman said: "That doesn't mean there is less sexual activity. There's plenty of sexual activity -- oral sex and mutual masturbation and other things that don't produce pregnancies."
There's also increased use of contraception, Friedman said. "In addition, there is more awareness of the negative effects of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases," he said.
http://www.philly.com/philly/health/HealthDay663596_20120410_U_S__Teen_Births_Hit_Record_Low.html [with comments]
===
Teen Pregnancies Highest In States With Abstinence-Only Policies
Apr 10, 2012
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/04/10/461402/teen-pregnancy-sex-education/ [with comments]
===
Once Again – Conservative States Lead In Teen Pregnancies
April 10, 2012
http://lezgetreal.com/2012/04/once-again-conservative-states-lead-in-teen-pregnancies/ [no comments yet]
Greensburg, KS - 5/4/07
"Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty."
from John Philpot Curran, Speech
upon the Right of Election, 1790
F6
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