- Birthrate for U.S. teens is lowest in history, By Sharon Jayson, April 9, 2012, USA Today: “Teen births are at their lowest level in almost 70 years, federal data report today. Birthrates for ages 15-19 in all racial and ethnic groups are lower than ever reported. ‘Young people are being more careful,’ says Sarah Brown, CEO of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. She attributes the declines to less sex and increased use of contraception. The report by the National Center for Health Statistics says the actual number of teen births in 2010 was the lowest since 1946. It credits ‘strong pregnancy prevention messages’ and says contraceptive use ‘may have contributed.’ The analysis comes at a time when contraception is a hot political debate, from a congressional investigation of whether federal money pays for abortions to concern among some church leaders over an Obama administration mandate that all health insurance cover birth control…”
- Teen births hit new low as pregnancy prevention programs pay off, By Michael Muskal, April 10, 2012, Chicago Tribune: “Teen births have fallen to record lows in the United States, continuing an overall trend — partly due to programs aimed at preventing pregnancies among teenagers, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Tuesday. The U.S. teen birth rate declined 9% from 2009 to 2010, reaching 34.3 births per 1,000 women ages 15-19, the CDC reported. From 1991 through 2010, the rate dropped by 44%. Teen child-bearing has been generally on a long-term decline in the United States since the late 1950s, but the United States continues to have one of the highest such rates among industrialized countries. Teen mothers and their offspring have more health risks than older women and their offspring, adding about $10.9 billion to public health costs each year, the agency said…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty