Teen Birth Rates: An Unwelcome Rise

Preliminary birth statistics from the CDC showed that, in 2006, the U.S. birth rate among teens (age range, 15–19) rose for the first time since 1991. The data were based on more than 99% of all births in the U.S. in 2006. Before 2006, teen birth rates had been declining steadily from a peak in 1991 (61.8/1000) to a nadir in 2005 (40.5/1000), making for an overall decrease of 34%. However, this trend seemed to change in 2006 when the teen birth rate increased by 3% to 41.9/1000. The largest escalation was reported for non-Hispanic black teens (5%); birth rates rose by 4% for American Indian teens, by 3% for non-Hispanic white teens, and by 2% for Hispanic teens.