Health

Teen Pregnancy Plummets

April 30, 1998 / 3:49 PM EDT / AP

Teen birth rates dropped in every state and across all races in the early 1990s, with births to black teen-agers at the lowest level ever recorded, the government said today.

Black teen birth rates fell by 21 percent between 1991 and 1996, though they remain nearly double the rate of white teens. Hispanic teens now have the highest birth rates, with more than one in 10 Hispanic teens giving birth each year, according to the analysis by the National Center for Health Statistics.

The statistics were being released as the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy marked two years of work calling on parents to become more involved with their teen-agers' lives.

Nearly half a million American teen-agers give birth ever year, with birth rates declining steadily since 1991. In 1996, nationwide, there was about one birth for every 20 women ages 15 to 19.

But those rates vary widely across the country, from 28.6 per 1,000 women in Vermont to 105.5 per 1,000 women in the District of Columbia for teens ages 15 to 19.

Nationally, between 1991 and 1995, teen birth rates dropped 8.5 percent. They fell by at least that much in 33 states. Twelve states saw declines of 12 percent or more, and five states topped 16 percent.

The national rate dropped more dramatically among younger teens ages 15 to 17 than for 18- and 19-year-olds.

Experts attribute the drop to two factors: Steady increases in the number of teens having sex have ebbed, and more teens are using contraception, particularly condoms, hoping to prevent the spread of HIV.

The highest teen birth rate was recorded in 1957, when nearly one in 10 women gave birth. The rate was significantly higher thoughout the 1950s and 1960s, but in those days, the mothers were much more likely to be married. In 1950, just 23 percent mothers aged 15 to 17 were unmarried; in 1996, it was 84 percent.

Teen pregnancy rates are more difficult to determine that teen birth rates, because data on the number of abortions and miscarriages must be added. In 1994, about half of teen pregnancies ended in birth.

Meanwhile, the teen pregnancy prevention campaign released research today showing that teens are less likely to become pregnant or to cause a pregnancy and more likely to use birth control if their parents are involved in their lives.

"Step one is to debunk the myth that by the time kids are teens it doesn't matter anymore," said Robert W. Blum of the University of Minnesota, who helped review the research.

The two-year-old campaign supports a variety of anti-pregnancy efforts, including programs that promote abstinence and those that encourage use of birth control. It hopes to cut the teen pregnancy rate by a third by 2005.