Post on May 15th, 2008
by stsara
- More than ten percent of all U.S. births in 2004 were to mothers under age 20 (1). Most teenage births (about 67 percent) are to girls ages 18 and 19 (1).
More than 750,000 teenagers become pregnant each year, and about 420,000 give birth (1, 3).
About 3 in 10 teenage girls become pregnant at least once before age 20 (2).
The teenage birth rate is declining. Between 1991 and 2004, the rate fell by one-third (from 61.8 per 1,000 women to 41.1) (1). Still, in 2004 (the most recent year for which data are available), about 4 teenage girls in 100 had a baby.
Between 22 and 30 percent of teen mothers under age 18 have a second baby within two years after the birth of their first baby (2).
Teen mothers are more likely than mothers over age 20 to give birth prematurely (before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy). Between 2002 and 2004, preterm birth rates averaged 14.3 percent for women under age 20 compared to 11.7 percent for women ages 20 to 29 (4). Babies born too soon face an increased risk of newborn health problems, long-term disabilities and even death.
Teenage Pregnancy. (2007, October). Retrieved May 15, 2008, from March of Dimes Web site: http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/14332_1159.asp
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