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1992.11.16 :  Study -- Birth, Pregnancy Statistics

Smith (301) 436-7135 Jeffrey Lancashire (301) 436-7551
November 16, 1992

       The number of pregnancies in the United States reached an
all-time high in the 1980s, with a marked increase in
childbearing among women in their thirties, the U.S. Public
Health Service reported today.
       In a report covering the years 1980-1988, PHS also
reported continuing increase in sexual activity among teens.  At
the same time, however, the report found increased use of condoms
by teens.  The overall pregnancy rate for teens remained fairly
stable during the 9-year period.   
       Using the latest national data on live births, fetal loss
and abortions, the National Center for Health Statistics analyzed
pregnancy patterns over the past decade and found that the number
of pregnancies among U.S. women reached a high of 6.3 million in
1988.  The number of pregnancies in 1988 was 7 percent higher
than in 1980, primarily reflecting the large number of women in
the childbearing ages from the baby boom generation.   
       Overall, one in 10 American women ages 15-44 had a
pregnancy that ended in 1988, but for women in their twenties, it
was almost one in five.  Slightly more than one million teen-
agers had a pregnancy in 1988.  Despite the continued rise in
births to older women and a recent increase in the teen-age birth
rate, the majority of births and abortions occurred to women in
their twenties.  
       The report looked specifically at teen-age pregnancy.  The
pregnancy rate for teen-agers remained about the same in 1980 and
1988 (about 110 per 1,000).   This lack of change from 1980 to
1988 occurred among both white and all other teen-agers, but for
different reasons.  
       Among white teens, premarital sexual activity increased
but condom use increased as well, producing a fairly stable
pregnancy rate (about 93 per 1,000 in 1988).  Between 1980 and
1988, the percent of white women 15-19 years of age who had
premarital sex rose from 41 to 51 percent.  Condom use at first
intercourse was up from 28 to 45 percent among whites.  Among all
others, the percent having premarital sex was about the same (59
percent) in both 1980 and 1988, but condom use also remained
about the same (about 30 percent).  So the pregnancy rate for all
other teens remained constant (about 184 per 1,000 in 1988).   
       "This high level of sexual activity and pregnancy causes
many teens to have to deal with responsibilities and problems far
beyond their physical and emotional resources," said William L.
Roper, M.D., director of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.  "Teens who have unintended pregnancies and sexually
transmitted diseases affect not only their present health and
welfare but change, for the worse, their entire future," he said.
       The annual number of abortions stayed at about 1.6 million
during the 1980s.  Despite small increases in the abortion rates
in each 5-year age group (except 40-44), the overall abortion
rate declined by about 7 percent from 1980 to 1988.  This overall
decrease was caused by the aging of the baby boom generation,
most of whom were in their 20s in 1980, and in their 30s in 1988;
the report noted that abortion rates for women in their 30s are
much lower than for women in their 20s.
       Of the over 6 million pregnancies in 1988, 62 percent
ended with a live birth, 13 percent with a fetal loss and 25
percent with an induced abortion.  The proportion of pregnancies
ending in abortion rose to 40 percent for women ages 15-19.     
       The study pointed to striking differences in childbirth
and abortion by age and race.  This analysis compares white women
with all other women (predominantly black) because of the lack of
data on abortions for specific racial and ethnic groups. 
       There was a 13 percent drop for white women and no
significant change in the abortion rate for all other women
during the 1980s.   In both 1980 and 1988, the abortion rate for
all other women was more than double the rate for white women.   
       For all other women the rates of pregnancy, live birth and
fetal loss were also higher.  The pregnancy rate for all other
women was about 70 percent higher than for white women in both
1980 and 1988.  The report notes that all other women were less
likely than white women to be using a contraceptive and more
likely to have an unintended pregnancy while using contraception. 
            The report also noted the trend in delayed
childbearing among women in their 30s.  The pregnancy rates
increased for women 30-34, from 95 pregnancies per 1,000 women
30-34 in 1980 to 110 in 1988.  For women 35-39, the increase was
from 36 in 1980 to 47 in 1988.  
       These increases were due primarily to increases in live
birth rates at these ages.  They reflect the trend toward delayed
childbearing in the 1980s, although birth and pregnancy rates for
women in their 20s remain higher than the rates for women in
their 30s.   
       Data in this report come from several sources.  The source
of data for live births is the statistics of registered births
published annually by NCHS.  Data on induced abortion are derived
from published reports from the Alan Guttmacher Institute and
from data from CDC's abortion reporting system.  
       The National Survey of Family Growth, conducted
periodically by NCHS among women in the childbearing ages to
obtain data on reproductive health, provided the data on fetal
loss as well as the data on contraceptive use and sexual
activity.    
       Copies of "Trends in Pregnancies and Pregnancy Rates,
United States, 1980-88" are available from NCHS, 6525 Belcrest
Road, Hyattsville, Md. 20782.  NCHS is part of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, one of the eight Public Health
Service agencies within HHS.  

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