Teen Pregnancy in the United States

In 2014, a total of 249,078 babies were born to women aged 1519 years, for
a birth rate of 24.2 per 1,000 women in this age group. This is another historic low
for U.S. teens and a drop of 9% from 2013. Birth rates fell 11% for women aged 15
17 years and 7% for women aged 1819 years. Although reasons for the declines
are not clear, more teens may be delaying or reducing sexual activity, and more of
the teens who are sexually active may be using birth control than in previous years.
Still, the U.S. teen pregnancy rate is substantially higher than in other western
industrialized nations, and racial/ethnic and geographic disparities in teen birth
rates persist.
Births per 1,000 Females Aged 1519 Years, by Race and Hispanic Ethnicity, Select
Years

Disparities in Teen Birth Rates

Teen birth rates declined from 2013 to 2014 for all races and for Hispanics. Among
15- to 19-year-olds, teen birth rates decreased:

12% for American Indian/Alaska Natives (AI/AN)

11% for non-Hispanic blacks

11% for Asian/Pacific Islanders

9% for Hispanics

7% for non-Hispanic whites

In 2014, national non-Hispanic black and Hispanic teen birth rates were still more
than two times higher than the rate for non-Hispanic white teens, and American
Indian/Alaska Native teen birth rates remained more than one and a half times
higher than the non-Hispanic white teen birth rate.
Geographic differences in teen birth rates persist, both within and across states.
Among some states with low overall teen birth rates, some counties have high teen
birth rates.
Less favorable socioeconomic conditions, such as low education and low income
levels of a teen's family, may contribute to high teen birth rates. Teens in child
welfare systems are at higher risk of teen pregnancy and birth than other groups.
For example, young women living in foster care are more than twice as likely to
become pregnant than those not in foster care.
To improve the life opportunities of adolescents facing significant health disparities
and to have the greatest impact on overall U.S. teen birth rates, CDC uses data to
inform and direct interventions and resources to areas with the greatest need.
The Importance of Prevention
Teen pregnancy and childbearing bring substantial social and economic costs
through immediate and long-term impacts on teen parents and their children.

In 2010, teen pregnancy and childbirth accounted for at least $9.4 billion 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 dropout rates
among girls. Only about 50% of teen mothers receive a high school diploma by
22 years of age, whereas approximately 90% of women who do not give birth
during adolescence graduate from high school.

The children of teenage mothers are more likely to have lower school
achievement and to 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.
These effects continue for the teen mother and her child even after adjusting for
those factors that increased the teenagers risk for pregnancy, such as growing up
in poverty, having parents with low levels of education, growing up in a singleparent family, and having poor performance in school.

APA: https://www.cdc.gov/teenpregnancy/about/

IN TEXT CITATION
According to Hamilton, Martin, and Osterman, et al(2015). In
2014, a total of 249,078 babies were born to women aged
1519 years, for a birth rate of 24.2 per 1,000 women in
this age group.

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