Primary Navigation for the CDC Website
CDC en Español

Media Relations
Arrow Home Arrow Contact Us Arrow En Español Arrow XML file for RSS feed Arrow About RSS
Media Relations


Press Release

For Immediate Release
April 14, 2008

Contact: CDC National Center for Health Statistics
Office of Communication
301-458-4800

Pregnancy Rate Drops for U.S. Women Under Age 25

Pregnancy rates for females under age 25, including teenagers, in the United States declined in 2004 compared to 1990, according to a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The report says nearly 38 percent of pregnancies in 2004 were to women under age 25, down from nearly 43 percent in 1990. The proportion of pregnancies among teens under age 20 dropped from 15 percent in 1990 to 12 percent in 2004.

The report, “Estimated Pregnancy Rates by Outcome for the United States, 1990-2004,” prepared by CDC′s National Center for Health Statistics, shows there were almost 6.4 million pregnancies in 2004 among women of all ages, about 6 percent fewer than the nearly 6.8 million in 1990. The 2004 total included 4.11 million live births, 1.22 million induced abortions, and 1.06 million fetal losses (such as stillbirths and miscarriages). In 1990, there were 4.16 million live births, 1.61 million induced abortions and 1.02 million fetal losses.

“This latest pregnancy outcome report finds that there was little change in births and fetal loss numbers between 1990 and 2004. However, abortions fell 24 percent over this time period,” said Stephanie Ventura, head of the Reproductive Statistics Branch at CDC/NCHS.

Other findings of the report:

The full report is available at www.cdc.gov/nchs.

###

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES


Content Source: Office of Enterprise Communication
Page last modified: April 14, 2008