Teen Births Now Rising

Teenagers Having Babies Up For the First Time in 15 Years

Jan 15, 2008

The upward trend for teen births is expected to continue to rise according to the CDC, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Birth Rates to Teens Down Since 1991

The birth rate among teenagers has been declining since 1991. In 1991, the peak in teen births, there were 62 births per 1000 girls. The rates have been declining since then. However, in 2005 the rate was 40.5 per 1000 and 42 per 1000 in 2006. Translating those percentages into births, there were 20,000 more babies born to teen mothers in 2006 than in 2005. The federal government is saying that this may be a one-year only increase. But, others are saying that it is a trend.

U.S. Fertility Is Also Up

The national fertility rate is the highest since 1971 and increased 2% since 2005-2006 to 2.1 children. The report did not specify any racial group responsible for the growth.

Abstinence-Only Programs

The government has spent more than $1 billion on abstinence-only programs over the past decade. This has many wondering if that philosophy is effective and if it should continue. The CDC survey was broken down state by state and it was noted that many states that taught abstinence-only programs had higher birth rates among teens. This has many opponents of the abstinence-only program stating that this is evidence that it is not enough to preach abstinence.

Contraceptive-Focused Sex Education

On the other hand, if you review the statistics of the contraceptive-focused sex education, it seems to have failed, as well. Teens state that they use contraceptives 63% of the time, which is up from 46% in 1991. So, why the higher birth rate?

Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Dr. Carol Hogue, an Emory University professor of maternal and child health, stated that STDs are rising so she expected the birth rates to rise accordingly—and they did. Common STDs are

Planned Parenthood Federation of America officials state that research shows that abstinence-only programs do not cause a decrease in teenage sexual activity.

Experts Disagree

Experts are now trying to reach conclusions about the new statistics. They are very divided in their opinions. Many blame the abstinence-only program and others state other approaches are not working either. Those trying to pass funding for the abstinence-only programs will have a tough battle trying to justify it.

Add the Dropout Factor

Who are the mothers of these babies? Houston, Dallas and San Antonio, Texas have drop out rates of over 50%. Other states are seeing 40% dropout rates. If the 16-year-old mother is a drop out and the 17-year-old father is a drop out, the chances of this baby having all the necessities in life are slim.

The copyright of the article Teen Births Now Rising in Student Health Issues is owned by Barbara Pytel. Permission to republish Teen Births Now Rising in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Sep 23, 2008 12:38 PM

Guest :

I wonder if this is a reflection of having more minorities in our schools? It seems to be culturally accepted for some high school girls to get pregnant. My daughter attends a school with a large number of minority girls. They don't seem to get as upset as the Anglo girls when learning they are pregnant.

Dec 14, 2008 2:38 PM

Guest :

You sad, sad person. I'm going to pray for you.

Sep 28, 2009 5:04 AM

Guest :

THAT MAY BE TRUE BUT THEY MIGHT NOT SEEM AS UPSET BECAUSE THE OTHER GIRLS HAVE MORE SUPPORT FROM THEIR PARENTS AND THE FATHER OF THE CHILD TAKES ON THE RESPONSIBILITY THEN THE ANGLO GIRLS. I MYSELF AM A HISPANIC TEEN MOTHER WHO FINISHED HIGH SCHOOL AND NOW GOING TO COLLEGE THANKS TO MY PARENTS AND MY BOYFRIEND AND IN MY SCHOOL THERE WERE PREGNANT GIRLS FROM EVERY RACE JUST AS SOME OTHER ETHNIC GROUP GIRLS FINISHED SCHOOL SOME DIDN'T AND THE SAME FOR ANGLO GIRLS SO I BELIVE THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE SUPPORT ONE GETS AT HOME.