Teen pregnancy rates continue to decline
Good news: Teen pregnancy rates dropped at both national and state levels in 1996, continuing a downward trend.
According to a report released by the Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI) in New York City, the nationwide teen pregnancy rate, which includes births, abortions, and miscarriages, declined 4% between 1995 and 1996.1 The teen birthrate also fell by 4%, and the abortion rate dropped 3%.
The continued drop in the teen birth rate has helped push the nation’s overall rate to the lowest point since the government began keeping records in 1909, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, MD.2
There were 3.88 million babies born in 1997, lowering the overall birth rate to 14.5 births per 1,000 Americans. According to the center’s demographers, the decline is due to the drop in adolescent birth rates, coupled with the aging of the general population.
The national teen pregnancy rate has decreased 9% since 1986, and, more significantly, 17% since its peak in 1990, according to AGI. Slight increases in the proportion of sexually active teens using contraceptives, teens’ use of highly effective long-term birth control methods such as Norplant implants and Depo-Provera, and modest reductions among those using condoms and oral contraceptives contributed to the decline, say AGI researchers.
"Many groups want to take credit for the drop in teen-age pregnancy, but the credit truly goes to teen-agers," says Jacqueline Darroch, PhD, AGI vice president for research. "About 20% of the decrease since the late 1980s is because of decreased sexual activity, and 80% of the decrease is because of more effective contraceptive practice — the method they are choosing and how well they are using them."
About 800,000 pregnancies occurred among young women ages 15 to 19 in 1996, with 62% of the pregnancies ascribed to those between ages 18 and 19. The highest number of teen pregnancies was recorded in California (126,300), followed by Texas (80,490), New York (61,700), Florida (48,290), and Illinois (42,510). Vermont (1,210), North Dakota (1,230), Wyoming (1,510), South Dakota (1,770), and Alaska (1,770) posted the lowest figures.
Between 1985 and 1996, teen pregnancy rates fell in 47 states, with the remaining states — Illinois, Indiana, and Nevada as well as the District of Columbia — showing declines between 1992 and 1996. In 27 states and the District of Columbia, teen birthrates were higher in 1996 than in 1985; in all but one of these areas, however, the rate was lower in 1996 than 1992, according to AGI.
Lower teen abortion rates were found in every state between 1985 and 1996. While the District of Columbia showed a higher rate in 1996 than 1985, it recorded a decline between 1992 and 1996.
AGI based its analysis of birth rates on information compiled by the National Center for Health Statistics.3 Teen pregnancy rates in 1996 ranged from 50 pregnancies per 1,000 young women in North Dakota to 140 in Nevada and 256 in the District of Columbia. State teen pregnancy rates were lower in 1996 than 1992 in all but one state, New Jersey, which stayed steady at 97.
California (125), Arizona (118), Florida (115), and Texas (113) followed Nevada in highest pregnancy rates, with Minnesota (56), New Hampshire (57), Maine (57), and Iowa (58) recording the lowest rates after those in North Dakota.
State teen birthrates in 1996 showed wide variation, with the highest (70 to 75 births per 1,000 women) in Mississippi (75), Arkansas (75), Arizona (74), Texas (73), and New Mexico (71); the District of Columbia recorded 102 births per 1,000 women. New Hampshire (29), Vermont (30), Maine (31), Minnesota (32), and Massachusetts (32) saw the lowest numbers of teen birthrates.
Abortion rates fall
Teen abortion rates fell 3% between 1995 and 1996, according to AGI, which surveys all abortion providers. The rate for abortions among women ages 15 to 19 has dropped 31% since 1986. The proportion of teen pregnancies ending in abortions has declined by 24% during the same time period.
States with the highest numbers of teen abortions were New York (53), Nevada (51), New Jersey (50), Maryland (46), and California (45); the rate in the District of Columbia was 121 per 1,000 young women. The lowest levels of teen abortions were noted in Utah (8), North Dakota (10), South Dakota (10), West Virginia (11), Idaho (12), and Iowa (12).
Overall, a little more than a third of all teen pregnancies in 1996 ended in abortion, say AGI researchers. When analyzing individual state rates, however, 58% of New Jersey teen pregnancies ended in abortion, with proportions in New York (56), Massachusetts (53), and the District of Columbia (54) also exceeding 50% levels. In comparison, 15% of teen pregnancies in Utah ended in abortion, with proportions below 20% recorded in Oklahoma (17), Mississippi (17), Kentucky (18), Arkansas (18), Louisiana (19), and West Virginia (19).
References
1. Alan Guttmacher Institute. Teenage Pregnancy: Overall Trends and State-by-State Information. New York City; 1999.
2. Stolberg SJ. U.S. birth rate at new low as teen-age pregnancy falls. The New York Times, April 29, 1999.
3. Ventura SJ, Mathews TJ, Curtin SC. Teenage births in the United States: state trends, 1991-1996, an update. Monthly Vital Statistics Report 1998; 46:Suppl2.
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