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Bloomberg.com: Science: "Teenage Mothers Rose in 2006, Reversing a 15-Year U.S. Decline

By Cristina Alesci

Teenage Mothers Rose in 2006, Reversing a 15-Year U.S. Decline

By Cristina Alesci

July 11 (Bloomberg) -- The number of U.S. teenagers who gave birth increased for the first time in 15 years, raising what a health official called ``a red flag.''

The rate at which teen girls became mothers rose 2.8 percent in 2006 from a year earlier, according to a report on children compiled by 22 U.S. agencies. The increase ended a decline that began when the teen birthrate peaked at 38 births per 1,000 girls ages 15 to 17 in 1991, the report's authors said.

The 2006 reversal is a ``red flag that something has gone wrong,'' and comes after government and health groups crusaded against teen pregnancies in the 1990s, said Duane Alexander, director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, in a telephone interview. The report detailing the rise also follows media-hyped celebrity pregnancies including Jamie Lynn Spears, the teenage sister of singer Britney Spears.

``Scenarios that were once considered taboo are applauded today,'' said Shari Brasner, a Manhattan obstetrician who wasn't involved in the report, said in a telephone interview. ``There seems to be less of a stigma for young girls.''

Babies born to teenage mothers are more likely to be premature, less healthy and more often have health and behavior problems that may persist throughout their lives, Alexander said. Young mothers are less likely to finish high school and get a job, he said.

``This is a wake-up call,'' said Jessica Sheets, a spokeswomen for the nonprofit advocacy group The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy in Washington, D.C., in an interview. ``The issue hasn't been in the forefront of people's minds.''

Abortion Drops

Abortion rates for women and girls of all ages fell to a 30- year low in 2005, the New York-based nonprofit Guttmacher Institute said in a report in January. It's unclear whether the abortion rate affected the birthrate.

``The rate of abortion in teens has been going down more quickly than other age groups,'' said Rebecca Wind, a Guttmacher Institute spokeswoman, in an interview.

Other reasons for the increase in teen births may become clear once new teen pregnancy data is available next year, said Susan Coupey, a pediatrician at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore, in a telephone interview yesterday.

Trends at Coupey's Bronx-based practice have moved in the opposite direction of national numbers for births and abortions.

``Kids are more likely to terminate than carry to term than they were in past years,'' said Coupey. ``But this place is clearly not in line with the national numbers. Other areas of the country are experiencing a decline in abortions.''

A more detailed report on teenager wellbeing will be published next year by the 22-member group, called the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics.

To contact the reporter on this story: Cristina Alesci in New York at calesci@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: July 11, 2008 00:01 EDT