Teenage Birthrate Increases for Second Consecutive Year

The birth rate among US teens ages 15-19 rose 1.4 percent from 2006 to 2007, possibly indicating that the campaign to reduce teen pregnancy has stalled or suffered a reversal. The rate among that group previously jumped 3.4 percent from 2005 to 2006, but researchers will have to wait at least another year before a clear trend can be established.

"We've now had two years of increases," said Stephanie J. Ventura of CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, which issued the preliminary report on Wednesday. "We may have a reached a tipping point. It's hard to know where it's going to go from here."

The increase could partly reflect complacency about AIDS and teen pregnancy, and it could be part of a broader trend. Birthrates have also increased among women in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and older unmarried women. The teen birth rate spiked from 1986 to 1991, leading to a campaign that helped reduce teen sexual activity and births. That decline in births lasted 14 years, first leveling off in 2001 before increasing in 2005.

The birth rate for teens ages 15-19 rose from 41.9 births per 1,000 in 2006 to 42.5 births per 1,000 in 2007, while the rate among girls ages 10-14 remained unchanged. Nationally, the birth rate rose 2 percent among whites and Asians and 1 percent among blacks. The rate decreased among Hispanics by 2 percent.

The mixed statistics and modest increases mean the data could represent a statistical blip, Ventura said. However, other experts said the findings fit a pattern of a stalled decline in teen sexual activity and decreased condom use. The US teen birth rate is the highest among industrialized countries.

The full report, "Births: Preliminary Data for 2007," was published in National Vital Statistics Reports (2009;57(12)).

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