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CDC Report on the
Increase of Teen Births.
The CDC has just issued a report showing that the U.S. teen birth rate,
which is generating media attention. The CDC study found that for the first
time in 14 years, the teen birth rate has increased, especially among 15-19
year olds. The statistics are featured in a new report, "Births: Preliminary
Data for 2006," prepared by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, and
are based on data from over 99 percent of all births for the United States
in 2006. While researchers say it is too early to say if it is a trend,
there are some very noteworthy findings in the report.
Key Points from the Report:
- The report shows
that between 2005 and 2006, the birth rate for teenagers aged 15-19 rose 3
percent, from 40.5 live births per 1,000 females aged 15-19 in 2005 to 41.9
births per 1,000 in 2006. This follows a 14-year downward trend in which
the teen birth rate fell by 34 percent from its all-time peak of 61.8 births
per 1,000 in 1991.
- The largest
increases were reported for non-Hispanic black teens, whose overall rate
rose 5 percent in 2006. The rate rose 2 percent for Hispanic teens, 3
percent for non-Hispanic white teens, and 4 percent for American Indian
teens.
- The birth rate for
the youngest teens aged 10-14 declined from 0.7 to
0.6 per 1,000 and the number of births to this age group fell 5 percent to
6,405. The birth rate for older teens ages 18-19 is 73 births per 1,000
population - more than three times higher than the rate for teens ages 15-17
(22 per 1,000). Between 2005 and 2006 the birth rate rose 3 percent for
teens aged 15-17 and 4 percent for teens aged 18 and 19.
- The study also
shows unmarried childbearing reached a new record high in 2006. The total
number of births to unmarried mothers rose nearly 8 percent to 1,641,700 in
2006. This represents a 20 percent increase from 2002, when the recent
upswing in non-marital births began. The biggest jump was among unmarried
women aged 25-29, among whom there was a 10 percent increase between 2005
and 2006.
- In addition, the
non-marital birth rate also rose sharply, from 47.5 births per 1,000
unmarried females in 2005 to 50.6 per 1,000 in 2006 – a 7 percent one-year
increase and a 16 percent increase since 2002.
WHAT WE
KNOW WORKS:
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Teenagers need to know how to
protect themselves against unintended pregnancy and HIV/AIDS and other
sexually transmitted infections. They need the right information to make
responsible decisions.
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We have a preventable public health problem in
this country — at last count an estimated 750,000 American teens will
become pregnant this year and nearly four million will contract a sexually
transmitted infection.
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Sometimes parents need help talking with their
teens about sex. We need education programs in our schools that will keep
teens healthy — by including information about abstinence as well as
contraception, healthy communication, responsible decision making, and
prevention of sexually transmitted infections.
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As a health care provider, Planned Parenthood
knows firsthand the power of education to help teens make responsible
decisions about their health. In 2006, our education department provided
11,000 women, men and teens with the health information and services they
need to prevent unintended pregnancy and protect their health.
Abstinence-Only
Programs
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In the last decade, more than $1 billion has
been wasted on dangerous abstinence-only programs that deny teenagers
life-saving information. It’s time to put that money toward real solutions
that will help prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted
infections among teenagers.
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Studies show that abstinence-only
programs don’t reduce the number of teen pregnancies or sexually
transmitted infections.
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Abstinence-only programs deny teenagers
medically accurate information about birth control and sexually
transmitted infections.
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New Jersey has
rejected federal funds for abstinence- only programs. Virginia just became
the 14th state to reject federal funding for these misguided programs.
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