Sharp decline in teenage moms in 2009--CDC

The report compiled by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics found a second straight year of decline in teenage pregnancy and motherhood in the nation.

The teen birth rate in 2009 plummeted to 39 births per 1,000 girls between the ages of 15-19, which is down by six percent from the previous year.

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy declared: "Even when the news is good, it is essential that parents, practitioners, policymakers, and really anyone who cares about teenagers, remember that the U.S. still has the highest rates of teen pregnancy and births among comparable countries and that we all need to continue helping teens postpone their families until they are older, through school, and in stable, committed relationships.”

Although, the exact reason for the decline in birth rate among teenagers is uncertain, some experts theorize the economic recession from December 2007 to June 2009 may be a contributory factor.

Major highlights of the report
The report found teen birth rates fell to record lows in all races and ethnic groups. The largest decline occurred among Hispanic girls with a 10 percent drop since 2008, while that for Asian Pacific Islanders also dropped by 10 percent.

Statistics show that fewer American women were giving birth. The general fertility rate dropped to 68.6 births per 1,000 females in 2008 to 66.7 in 2009.

In a first ever decline since 1997, the total number of births to unmarried mothers declined to nearly 4 percent in 2009.

However, the percentage of all births to unmarried mothers was 41 percent compared to 40.6 percent in 2008.

The report found the rate of C-sections rose by nearly 60 percent since 1996. In 2009, around one in three kids were delivered through a cesarean.

The pre-term birth rate, for infants delivered at less than 37 weeks of pregnancy, dropped for the third straight year to about 12 percent of all births.

The birth rate for women in their early 20s fell to seven percent last year, the largest decline since 1973.

The only exception was birth rate in women aged 40-44 which rose by three percent from 2008, to about 10 births per 1,000 women.

Some plausible reasons
Although, the exact reason for the decline in birth rate among teenagers is uncertain, some experts theorize the economic recession from December 2007 to June 2009 may be a contributory factor.

Another reason cited is the decline in immigration to the United States.

A large proportion of immigrants are Hispanic who accounted for nearly one in four births in 2009.

Also there is some evidence that birth control use has increased considerably among teenagers and may have contributed to the sharp drop in teen births.

Sarah Brown, the head of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy stated: “I’m not suggesting that teens are examining futures of 401(k)s or how the market is doing.

“But I think they are living in families that experience that stress.
They are living next door to families that lost their jobs…The recession has touched us all.”

The results of the analysis are published in Monday's online issue of the journal Pediatrics.