For the first time in 15 years, the teen birth rate rose 3 percent. Poynter's Al Tompkins writes in
Al's Morning Meeting, "the question worth asking your local experts is 'does this up-tick represent the beginning of a trend?'"
Tompkins quotes a survey:
The
teen birth rate in the United States rose in 2006 for the first time
since 1991, and unmarried childbearing also rose significantly,
according to preliminary birth statistics released today by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
...The
report shows that between 2005 and 2006, the birth rate for teenagers
15-19 years rose 3 percent, from 40.5 live births per 1,000 females
aged 15-19 years in 2005 to 41.9 births per 1,000 in 2006. This follows
a 14-year downward trend in which the teen birth rate fell by 34
percent from its all-time peak of 61.8 births per 1,000 in 1991.
...The largest
increases were reported for non-Hispanic black teens, whose overall
rate rose 5 percent in 2006. The rate rose 2 percent for Hispanic
teens, 3 percent for non-Hispanic white teens, and 4 percent for
American Indian or Alaska Native teens.
The
birth rate for the youngest teens aged 10-14 declined from 0.7 to 0.6
per 1,000, and the number of births to this age group fell 5 percent to
6,405. The birth rate for older teens aged 18-19 is 73 births per 1,000
population –- more than three times higher than the rate for teens aged
15-17 (22 per 1,000). Between 2005 and 2006, the birth rate rose 3
percent for teens aged 15-17 and 4 percent for teens aged 18-19.
Find out what students think about having children at such a young age. There might be someone at your school who has and is willing to share her story.
-- Kelli Polson
