Alabama Teen Pregnancy Rate Down
By: Stephen Crews
Updated: January 15, 2013
When it comes to our children having children of
their own in Alabama, there appears to be good news to report. From its
peak in 1973, the percent of births to teens in Alabama has declined by
58 percent. Since 2000, there has been a 32 percent decline in teen
births.
In 2011, Alabama's teenage birth rate fell to a
historic low rate of 20.9 per 1,000 females ages 10 to 19. That is just
6,697 births to teen mothers, according to the Center for Health
Statistics of the Alabama Department of Public Health. The percent of
births to teens as a percent of all births is 11.3. Another record low
was the percent of births to young teens, those less than age 18. That
statistic fell to just 3.5 percent of live births. The pregnancy rate is
29.6 per 1,000 females ages 10-19. That is a 25 percent drop since
2002.
Jamie Keith, executive director of the Alabama
Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, said, "We celebrate this important
achievement and believe that when young people are provided
opportunities to build their knowledge and skills about ways to avoid
sexual risk-taking behavior they are less likely to engage in those
behaviors. I encourage Alabama communities to invest in community and
school-based programs that ensure young people have access to medically
accurate and age-appropriate sexual health education programs. With this
investment we will continue to see declines in the number of unintended
pregnancies to Alabama teens."
For more information about Alabama Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, call (334) 265-8004.
