The number of teenage mothers is at a record low, continuing a 14-year downward trend.
Using data from the National Center for Health Statistics, the nonprofit Child Trends research center reported in June that the 2005 birth rate for teens ages 15–19 was 40.4 births for every 1,000 female teens, which is 35 percent lower than the peak of 61.8 percent in 1991.
Though birth rates varied across racial and ethnic groups, numbers were down across the board, Child Trends said. For white teen females, 26 out of every 1,000 gave birth in 2005. The birth rate for non-Hispanic black teen females was 60.9 and for Hispanics, it was 81.5.
“The trend lines on teen births are generally moving in the right direction, and we should pause and savor that fact,” Jennifer Manlove, who helped prepare the report, said in a news release. “But it is far too early to declare this problem ‘solved’ since the U.S. teen birth rate is still higher than that of any other developed nation.”
Texas had the highest teen birth rate with 63 births for every 1,000 females ages 15–19, followed by Mississippi, New Mexico, Arkansas and Arizona, Child Trends reported. The lowest teen birth rates were found in the Northeast, where New Hampshire led with 18 for every 1,000 female teens, followed by Vermont and Massachusetts.
Data from the report also shows that 83 percent of teen births are to unwed mothers. (BP)
Share with others: