Teenage pregnancy in the United States

The article is about teen pregnancy in the United States. For a broader view see Teen pregnancy and Adolescent sexuality in the United States.

Teen births, aged 15–19, per 1,000 people by state, 2015

Teenage pregnancy in the United States occurs mostly unintentionally[1] and out of wedlock[2][3] but has been declining almost continuously since the 1990s.[1][4][5] In 2022, the teenage birth rate fell to 13.5 per 1,000 girls aged 15 to 19, the lowest on record.[6] According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this decline is due to abstinence and the use of contraception.[7][3]

The averages conceal significant ethnic or geographic differences within the US.[8] The birth rates for Hispanic and African-American teens were more than double those of European-American teens,[9] while Asian-American adolescents have the lowest pregnancy and birth rates of all.[3] As of 2015, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi had the highest adolescent birth rates in the Union. (See map.)

Since 2012, the birth rate of American girls aged 15 to 19 has fallen below the OECD average, though it still remains above that of many other industrialized nations.[10] As of 2024, the rate of decline has faltered.[11]

  1. ^ a b Cha, Ariana (April 28, 2016). "Teen birthrate hits all-time low, led by 50 percent decline among Hispanics and blacks". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  2. ^ "An Analysis of Out-Of-Wedlock Births in the United States". The Brookings Institution. August 1, 1996. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Patten, Eileen; Livingston, Gretchen (April 29, 2016). "Why is the teen birth rate falling?". Pew Research Center. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  4. ^ Wildsmith, Elizabeth; Welti, Kate; Finocharo, Jane; Ryberg, Renee; Manlove, Jennifer (December 23, 2022). "Teen Births Have Declined by More Than Three Quarters Since 1991 - Child Trends". Child Trends. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  5. ^ DeParle, Jason (December 31, 2022). "Their Mothers Were Teenagers. They Didn't Want That for Themselves". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  6. ^ Kekatos, Mary (June 1, 2023). "Teenage birth rates in the US reached historic lows in 2022, CDC report finds". ABC News. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  7. ^ "Too Much Netflix, Not Enough Chill: Why Young Americans Are Having Less Sex". Politico Magazine. February 8, 2018.
  8. ^ "About Teen Pregnancy | CDC". www.cdc.gov. November 15, 2021. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  9. ^ "ONDCP: Hispanic teens more likely than whites, blacks to use drugs". PsycEXTRA Dataset. 2007. doi:10.1037/e426482008-009. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  10. ^ "Some good news about America's fertility problem". The Economist. February 5, 2024. Archived from the original on February 6, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  11. ^ Stobbe, Mike (April 25, 2024). "US births fell last year, marking an end to the late pandemic rebound, experts say". Associated Press. Retrieved May 10, 2024.