Numbers Show Teen Pregnancy on the Rise Again

Though teen pregnancy rates have been on the decline for a decade or more, this public health issue has reared its head once again. A new study by the Guttmacher Institute reveals that the rate of teen pregnancies, births and abortions mostly began increasing again in 2006, the most recent year for which data exists.

Many experts have rushed forward to issue blame for the spike, and abstinence-only education, the sex education program preferred by the Bush administration, has been the biggest target. Previous studies have indeed suggested that comprehensive sex education, and not just abstinence-only programs, are more effective at lowering teen pregnancies. But the Guttmacher report also reveals that teen pregnancies vary according to factors like "shifts in the racial and ethnic composition of the population" and " increases in poverty."

Among its most revealing findings:

• Among black women ages 15-19, the nationwide pregnancy rate fell by 45 percent (from 223.8 per 1,000 to 122.7) between 1990 and 2005, before increasing to 126.3 in 2006.


• Among non-Hispanic white teenagers, the pregnancy rate declined 50 percent in the same period (from 86.6 per 1,000 to 43.3), before increasing to 44.0 in 2006.


• Among Hispanic teenagers (of any race), the pregnancy rate decreased by 26 percent (from 169.7 per 1,000 to 124.9) between 1992 and 2005, before rising to 126.6 in 2006.


• The states known to have the highest pregnancy rates among black teenagers ages 15-19 were New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota (132-149 per 1,000). The rate was lowest in Hawaii (42 per 1,000), followed by Idaho, Maine, Utah and Alaska (52-74).
  


• The highest pregnancy rate among Hispanic women aged 15-19 was found in Alabama (228per 1,000). Rates were also over 185 in Tennessee, South Carolina, Delaware and Georgia. Incontrast, pregnancy rates among Hispanic teenagers were lowest in West Virginia and Maine (43and 47 per 1,000, respectively).

All of these statistics suggest that while teen pregnancies are indeed on the rise, they're also not back up to the levels they were when the 1990s began.

Factors such as race, poverty and education have come into play in other public health realms in addition to teenage pregnancy. Poverty has been shown to affect a person's overall health to an even greater extent than smoking.

Some people in the media have started offering up their own suggestions as to why this public health situation is changing course. The Washington Post noted the recent surge of television offerings related to teen pregnancy: shows like "16 and Pregnant," "Teen Mom," "The Secret Life of the American Teenager," and "The Pregnancy Pact." But not only does this suggestion not give teenagers enough credit, it also ignores the fact that the study showing an increase in teen pregnancies uses statistics from 2006, which is at least two years before any of those TV shows premiered.