A new report published this month by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) indicates that teen pregnancy rates are rising. The CDC, reported significant increases in the teen pregnancy rate in 26 states in 2006, ending a 15 year decline in teen pregnancy statistics.
Regionally, the northeast has the lowest and the south and southwest have the highest teen pregnancy rates. The new data shows the greatest increases in teen pregnancy rates in Alaska, Mississippi, Montana, Hawaii, and Nevada.
A number of factors including a rise in highly publicized teen pregnancies, abstinence-only programs, and a disproportionate number of pregnancies among minority teenagers are theorized to be influencing the rise in teenage pregnancy.
Paul Sutton of the National Center for Health Statistics told USA Today that "to see 26 states with statistically significant increases is fairly remarkable….we're seeing increases in both the number of teens having births and also the rate at which they are having births. Both of them are going up."
Media Resources: Center for Disease Control; USA Today 1/7/09; Star-Bulletin 1/8/09; Huffington Post 1/19/09
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