Teenagers might be getting a little less frisky and more cautious of getting pregnant as a new report has found out that the teen birthrates in the United States hit an all-time low for the year of 2015.
The number regarding teenage birthrate has been decreasing in the past two years and as per federal statistics, the teen birthrate decreases to 22.3 per 1,000 teenagers ages 15 to 19 last year. It was down from the 2014 data saying that there is 24.2 teen births per 1,000 teens in the same age group. The report comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
As compared to 1991, there were 62 births per a thousand teens in the same age group. The teenage birthrate was at its peak during that time. The 2015 data is a 64 percent decrease from that of 1991.
In the same report published by the researchers of CDC's Center for National Health Statistics, they also reported that in the 15-17 age group, the birthrate for teens decreased to 10 births in 1,000 teens last year compared to 2014's 11 births. For the 18-19 age group, it was recorded that there were 44 births per 1,000 teens in 2014 and last year, it decreased to 41 births, Live Science reported.
Another age group highlighted in the research is the birthrate for those belonging in the 10-14 age group. As compared to 0.3 births per 1,000 in 2014, it decreased to 0.2 births per 1,000 last year.
As per the total, in the 10-14 age group, there were 2,503 deliveries in the United States last year while 61,223 births were recorded for the 15-17 age bracket. For the 18-19 group, 168,665 births were recorded.
According to Dr. Iffath Hoskins, a clinical associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at New York University Langone Medical Center, there are several reasons for the decline of teen births for the past years. He pointed out that health care providers and educators have taken steps to approach teenagers regarding pregnancy. The availability of contraception to teens have also increased and that it has been beneficial as it is available to younger patients.
Isaac Maddow-Zimet, a researcher with the Guttmacher Institute, also said in a statement that the decline in the birth rates for teenagers does not mean that they are having less sexual contact. A shift in the policy of using contraceptives also helped decrease the birth rate.
Aside from the data for teen births, it was also state in the CDC findings that the birthrates for women in their 20s decreased from 2014 to 2015. However, birthrates for women in their 30s and early 40s increased.
