Spread this news with your holiday cheer
Here’s something else to celebrate this holiday season: According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, teen pregnancy rates fell 52 percent between 1990 (the year rates peaked) and 2009 for 15- to 17-year olds and 36 percent for 18- to 19-year olds.
“The decline,” says Sarah Brown, CEO of The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, “has been fueled by three factors: More teens are waiting to have sex, teens are reporting fewer sexual partners and teens are using contraception more. In short, the credit for this remarkable national success story goes to teens themselves.”
Other key findings from the research include:
Pregnancy rates dropped 51 percent for black teens.
Hispanic teens saw a 40 percent reduction in pregnancy rates.
It’s a success story few Americans have heard, Brown says. “Unfortunately, nearly half of Americans incorrectly believe the teen pregnancy rate in the U.S. has increased over the past two decades.”
Feel free to share these glad tidings.
