Latino Teen Birth Rate Drops Dramatically
A new government study by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics shows that teen birth rates have plummeted especially for Hispanic teen girls.
The teen birth rate from 1991 to 2011 dropped by 50 percent from every 62 births per 1,000 teens to 31 births for every 1,000 teens. The decrease was equally dramatic from 2007 to 2011 – the most recent timeframe for the study – dropping by 25 percent.
The study observed the greatest decrease in teen birth rates amongst Latina teens. From 2007 to 2011 the Latina teen rate dropped by 34 percent. Now Latina teen rates are just 4 percent higher than that of African-American teens. Teen birth rates for African-Americans dropped by 24 percent in the same timeframe.
The study did not get into the reasons for the birth rate decline.
Government researcher’s elation over the good news was tempered. The U.S. still has one of the highest incidents of teen births amongst development nations. While we have a rate of 31 per 1,000 rate, Japan’s rate is 4.9 births per 1,000 teen, for example.
This article was firs published in Hispanically Speaking News.
Read more related stories here:
Teen Hispanic birth rates decline 40 percent, but more needs to be done, says expert, Associated Press/NBCLatino
Hispanic teen birth rate decreased dramatically, Christian Science Monitor
[Photo by mahalie stackpole]