This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated.

Date: Thursday, June 25, 1998                                             
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact: Michael Greenwell (770) 488-5131

Teen pregnancy rates have decreased significantly across the country, according to a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The report presents the latest data showing adolescent pregnancy rates by state for 1992-1995.

In each of the 42 states (plus District of Columbia) with available data, adolescent pregnancy rates for females aged 15-19 decreased between 1992 and 1995.

In April, HHS announced that fewer teenagers gave birth from 1991 to 1996, but today's report presents the first data to show that fewer teens became pregnant during that time frame. In the same time period, teen abortion rates also declined in 40 of 43 reporting states, according to previously-released reports.

"These findings indicate that the early 1990s were a turning point in adolescent pregnancy trends, following the increase that occurred in the 1980s," said HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala. "Nonetheless, up to 1 million teens still become pregnant every year and America's teen pregnancy rate remains high in comparison with other industrial nations."

According to the report, pregnancy rates varied widely by state. In 1995, state rates ranged from 56 per 1,000 15 to 19-year-old adolescents in North Dakota, to 117 per 1,000 in Nevada. The rate in the District of Columbia, also measured in the report, was 230 per 1,000. Decreases in the rates ranged from 3 percent in Arkansas to 20 percent in Vermont.

Reporting states that had teen pregnancy rates over 100 per 1000 adolescent female population in 1995 were:

Alabama (106.3, a decrease of 3.3 percent from 1992)
Arizona (108.2, a decrease of 11.4 percent)
Arkansas (104.1, a decrease of 2.8 percent)
Georgia (115.6, a decrease of 8.3 percent)
Mississippi (103.1, a decrease of 13.2 percent)
Nevada (117.1, a decrease of 6.3 percent)
New Mexico (106.8, a decrease of 11 percent)
New York (105.8, a decrease of 7.1 percent)
North Carolina (112.4, a decrease of 8.9 percent)
Tennessee (104.5, a decrease of 5.8 percent)
Texas (116.3, a decrease of 4.8 percent)

Idaho (63.4, a decrease of 9.9 percent)
Maine (58.7, a decrease of 9.8 percent)
Minnesota (56.4, a decrease of 13.3 percent)
Nebraska (64.6, a decrease of 13.5 percent)
North Dakota (56.3, a decrease of 11.8 percent)
South Dakota (59.5, a decrease of 15.1 percent)
Utah (58.1, a decrease of 11.5 percent)
Vermont (64.7, a decrease of 20.1 percent)
Wisconsin (59.2, a decrease of 17.4 percent)
Wyoming (58.0, a decrease of 8.4 percent)

Abortion rates and birth rates for 15 to 19-year-olds also declined from 1992 to 1995, with abortion rates decreasing more than birth rates. Declines in teen abortion rates ranged from 3 percent in Arkansas to 58 percent in Mississippi.

While the rate of sexual experience among adolescents increased during the 1980s, surveys have found that it leveled off from 1988 to 1995 and that the percentage of sexually active teens using condoms increased.

"The fact that fewer teens are getting pregnant shows that teens are accepting responsibility for their sexual behavior to a greater extent by abstaining from sex or using contraception more effectively," said Dr. Claire Broome, Acting Director of CDC.

States not reporting data to CDC and thus not included in today's report are Alaska, California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma. Reporting of these data to CDC is voluntary by states.

"State-Specific Adolescent Pregnancy Rates, United States, 1992-1995, is published in this week's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.