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N.C. teen pregnancy rates hold steady

From the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign of North Carolina

Published: September 22, 2008

North Carolina's teen pregnancy rates continue to hold steady, with 2007 state rates nearly the same as those over the previous four years. The five-year plateau follows a 13-year decline that resulted in the state's lowest-ever rates in 2003. The state's adolescent pregnancy rate has declined by 36 percent since 1992.

The 2007 pregnancy rate for teens ages 15 through 19 was 63.0 pregnancies per 1,000 girls, compared to 63.1 per 1,000 in 2006, according to the State Center for Health Statistics.

The total number of North Carolina teens aged 15-19 who were pregnant in 2007 was 19,615. That number includes both married and unmarried females. Over 29 percent of those pregnancies were to girls who had been pregnant at least once before. The number of 10- to14-year-olds who were pregnant last year was 404.

Among minority populations, Hispanic teens had the highest pregnancy rate, although their rate has dropped nearly 7 percent since 2003. The 2007 pregnancy rate among Hispanic adolescents in the state was 167.4 per 1,000 girls aged 15-19, a 3.3 percent decrease from the 2006 rate of 173.1. African American teens had a 2007 pregnancy rate of 87.1, compared to 86.2 in 2006. The number of pregnancies among American Indian teens and other minority groups was too low to calculate reliable rates.

The disparity between white and minority teen pregnancy rates has narrowed since 1992, when the minority teen pregnancy rate was two times higher than the white rate. In 2007, the minority teen pregnancy rate remained at 1.6 times that for white teens.

While most rates remained steady, the rate of repeat pregnancies rose 3.2 percent from the previous year. Repeat pregnancies accounted for 29.4 percent of teen pregnancies in 2007.

"While it's good news that we didn't see an increase in teen pregnancies in 2007, we are concerned that the rate has leveled off over the past few years," said State Health Director Leah Devlin. "Too many of our teens are getting pregnant. North Carolina has one of the higher teen pregnancy rates in the nation."

"Recent high-profile teen pregnancies have put a spotlight on this issue," Devlin said. "We must continue to work to reduce the number of pregnancies that occur among young women before they are ready to handle the responsibilities that come with having a child."

"These statistics indicate that while high profile first pregnancies such as Jamie Lynn Spears or Bristol Palin make the evening news, it is teen parents that we ought to be focusing on," said Kay Phillips, Executive Director of the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign of North Carolina. "Teen mothers need special attention: only a third graduate from high school and by the age of 30, they're earning only 58 percent of the amount that women who delayed childbirth will earn. We need to teach our teens to delay pregnancy and if they don't, encourage them in finishing their education and delaying a second pregnancy until they're financially ready to support a family."

The YWCA Greensboro's Adolescent Parenting Program works to build relationships between teens and caring adults. Research shows that such relationships help build teens' resilience during adverse life circumstances such as unplanned pregnancies. Each teen parent is matched with a mentor, receives leadership training and childbirth classes, and has access to the Doula program, which provides a supportive structure before, during and after the baby's birth. The teen parents can participate in the Teen Family Literacy program, which encourages reading for the young parents and their children. Participants are also encouraged to volunteer their time for quarterly service projects in the community.

More information on state and county teen pregnancy rates and numbers is on the State Center for Health Statistics website at www.schs.state.nc.us/SCHS/data/pregnancies/2007. For county rankings and information about reducing teen pregnancy, see the APPCNC website at www.appcnc.org. Parents can also contact APPCNC at nc4facts@appcnc.org or 919-226-1880.