Nearly 20 percent of teen births are repeat births, according to a new report released by the CDC. Although teen births have fallen over the past 20 years, the number of repeat births remains high and there are substantial racial/ethnic and geographic differences.
Repeat births: A repeat birth is a second (or more) pregnancy resulting in a live birth before the age of 20. More than 365,000 teens, ages 15-19 years, gave birth in 2010, and almost 67,000 (18.3 percent) of those were repeat births.
Racial disparities: Repeat teen births were highest among American Indian/Alaska Natives (21.6 percent), Hispanics (20.9 percent), and non-Hispanic blacks (20.4 percent), and lowest among non-Hispanic whites (14.8 percent).
Geographic disparities: Repeat teen births ranged from 22 percent in Texas to 10 percent in New Hampshire. Data show that although nearly 91 percent of teen mothers who were sexually active used some form of contraception in the postpartum period, only 22 percent used contraceptives considered to be “most effective” (that is, where the risk is less than one pregnancy per 100 users in a year.)
In 2011, a total of 329,797 babies were born to women aged 15–19 years, for a live birth rate of 31.3 per 1,000 women in this age group.1 This is a record low for U.S. teens in this age group, and a drop of 8% from 2010. Birth rates fell 11% for women aged 15–17 years, and 7% for women aged 18–19 years. While reasons for the declines are not clear, teens seem to be less sexually active, and more of those who are sexually active seem to be using birth control than in previous years.
Teen pregnancy and childbearing bring substantial social and economic costs through immediate and long-term impacts on teen parents and their children.
In 2008, teen pregnancy and childbirth accounted for nearly $11 billion per year in costs to U.S. taxpayers for increased health care and foster care, increased incarceration rates among children of teen parents, and lost tax revenue because of lower educational attainment and income among teen mothers.
Pregnancy and birth are significant contributors to high school drop out rates among girls. Only about 50% of teen mothers receive a high school diploma by 22 years of age, versus approximately 90% of women who had not given birth during adolescence.
The children of teenage mothers are more likely to have lower school achievement and drop out of high school, have more health problems, be incarcerated at some time during adolescence, give birth as a teenager, and face unemployment as a young adult.
There are things that can be done to prevent repeat teen births. Health care providers, parents, guardians, and caregivers can talk to both male and female teens about avoiding pregnancy by not having sex and can discuss with sexually active teens the most effective types of birth control to prevent repeat teen pregnancy.
Teen pregnancy prevention is one of CDC’s top six priorities, a “winnable battle” in public health, and of paramount importance to health and quality of life for our youth. Evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs typically address specific protective factors on the basis of knowledge, skills, beliefs, or attitudes related to teen pregnancy.
Follow all the news about Pets, Education and Child Health by subscribing to my articles. Click on the "Subscribe" button, or here: http://www.examiner.com/user-bmader.
Comments