Teen births declined 69 percent between 2000 and 2022, according to newly released federal data. databut racial and ethnic disparities continue to exist.
Births declined at similar rates across all races, but black, Native American and Hispanic teens still had higher birth rates in 2021 than non-Hispanic white teens, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
The decline in births was smaller for Hispanic teens than for other teens, but the Hispanic female teen population also increased by 79 percent between 2000 and 2022, while other populations declined.
According to researchers, the number of Hispanic teenagers who could potentially give birth has increased, while the percentage who actually do so has decreased.
In 2000, there were more than 475,100 teenage births; in 2022, there were just over 145.3 thousand births. During the same period, the female adolescent population increased by 7%.
Researchers attributed the decline to teenagers being older when they begin having sex, less sexual activity among teenage girls and greater use of effective contraception among sexually active teenagers.
The biggest decline in the birth rate – a 79 percent decline – occurred among girls aged 15 to 17.
There was also an 80% decline in the rate of teenagers having one or more births after their first child. Researchers said the decline is a sign of the success of efforts to prevent or delay additional births until women reach their twenties.
Research has shown that a second child to support and care for makes it more difficult for teenage mothers to attend high school or college and secure adequate employment.
Having a second child further increases their and their children’s risk of poverty and is associated with a greater likelihood of adverse outcomes for children of teenage mothers, such as low birth weight, abuse and neglect, and child homicide, the CDC said. .
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