Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
N.C. teen pregnancy rates still declining
Staff Reports
RALEIGH -- For the 12th year in row, North Carolina teen pregnancy rates have dropped, state health officials have reported.
The pregnancy rate for all girls ages 15 through 19 declined 7.5 percent from 2001 to 2002, the lowest rate ever.
The 2002 overall pregnancy rate for teens ages 15 through 19 was 64.1 pregnancies per 1,000 girls, down from 69.3 per 1,000 in 2001. The pregnancy rate for minority teens dropped from 96.1 in 2001 to 87.3 in 2002, while the rate for white teens went down from 57.2 in 2001 to 53.6 in 2002, according to a news release from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
The total number of North Carolina teens aged 15-19 who were pregnant in 2002 was 17,976. Thirty percent of those pregnancies were to girls who had been pregnant at least once before, state data showed. The total number of 10- to 14-year-olds who were pregnant was 481. These numbers include both married and unmarried women and girls.
The pregnancy rate among Hispanic adolescents in the state was 181.5 per 1,000 girls aged 15-19 in 2002, one of the highest rates in the nation, according to the news release. African American teens had a pregnancy rate of 89.9, and American Indians had pregnancy rate of 89.0.
While adolescent pregnancy rates have declined by more than 39 percent in North Carolina since 1990, the state still has the 14th-highest birth rate for 15-19 year olds in the nation, state health officials said. Moreover, the United States has the second-highest teen birth rate (54 birth per 1,000 teens) of the 46 industrialized countries in the world, according to research by the Alan Guttmacher Institute. Only Armenia has a higher teen birthrate (56). At four births per 1,000 teens, Japan has the lowest rate.
"We are delighted that teen pregnancy rates are dropping in North Carolina, but we haven't solved this problem yet," said Dr. Leah Devlin, state health director. "It is troubling that nearly every other state in the country and nearly every other developed country in the world has lower teen pregnancy rates than we do.
"North Carolina Public Health and the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Coalition of North Carolina-APPCNC have been working with communities on teen pregnancy prevention and teen parenting issues for the last 19 years," Devlin added. "The fact that our teen pregnancy rates have continued to go down is due in large part to these cooperative efforts. But there is still much work to be done."
One of the state's oldest Local Councils on Teen Pregnancy Prevention has demonstrated great success in reducing teen pregnancy. Since 1982 the Caldwell Council on Adolescent Health has been working with the community, parents and with agencies such as APPCNC, the Caldwell County Health Department, the Caldwell County School System and DHHS to prevent adolescent pregnancy, the news release noted.
"In 1982, Caldwell County had the fourth highest rate of teen pregnancy in the state," said Kay Phillips, executive director of the council. "Today we are so proud to be number 68. It is our hope that the success we are experiencing will continue and the legislature will see the importance of ongoing funding for teen pregnancy prevention initiatives," said Phillips.
For more information about reducing teen pregnancy, parents can contact APPCNC at nc4fact@appcnc.or or 919-932-9885 / 1-800-NC4-FACT. More information on state and county teen pregnancy rates and numbers is on the State Center for Health Statistics Web site at www.schs.state.nc.us/SCHS/healthstats/pregnancies/2002.
The following figures were provided for counties in the Daily New's coverage area:
Martin County: 64 pregnancies per 1,000 teenage girls, ages 15-19; rate -- 73.6; ranking, 27 out of 100 counties.
Beaufort: 95 pregnancies per 1,000; rate -- 67.1; ranking, 43.
Tyrrell: eight pregnancies per 1,000; rate -- 64.1; ranking, 53.
Washington: 30 pregnancies per 1,000 ; rate -- 60.4; ranking, 63.
Hyde: six pregnancies per 1,000; rate -- 39.0; ranking, 96.
The pregnancy rate for all girls ages 15 through 19 declined 7.5 percent from 2001 to 2002, the lowest rate ever.
The 2002 overall pregnancy rate for teens ages 15 through 19 was 64.1 pregnancies per 1,000 girls, down from 69.3 per 1,000 in 2001. The pregnancy rate for minority teens dropped from 96.1 in 2001 to 87.3 in 2002, while the rate for white teens went down from 57.2 in 2001 to 53.6 in 2002, according to a news release from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
The total number of North Carolina teens aged 15-19 who were pregnant in 2002 was 17,976. Thirty percent of those pregnancies were to girls who had been pregnant at least once before, state data showed. The total number of 10- to 14-year-olds who were pregnant was 481. These numbers include both married and unmarried women and girls.
The pregnancy rate among Hispanic adolescents in the state was 181.5 per 1,000 girls aged 15-19 in 2002, one of the highest rates in the nation, according to the news release. African American teens had a pregnancy rate of 89.9, and American Indians had pregnancy rate of 89.0.
While adolescent pregnancy rates have declined by more than 39 percent in North Carolina since 1990, the state still has the 14th-highest birth rate for 15-19 year olds in the nation, state health officials said. Moreover, the United States has the second-highest teen birth rate (54 birth per 1,000 teens) of the 46 industrialized countries in the world, according to research by the Alan Guttmacher Institute. Only Armenia has a higher teen birthrate (56). At four births per 1,000 teens, Japan has the lowest rate.
"We are delighted that teen pregnancy rates are dropping in North Carolina, but we haven't solved this problem yet," said Dr. Leah Devlin, state health director. "It is troubling that nearly every other state in the country and nearly every other developed country in the world has lower teen pregnancy rates than we do.
"North Carolina Public Health and the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Coalition of North Carolina-APPCNC have been working with communities on teen pregnancy prevention and teen parenting issues for the last 19 years," Devlin added. "The fact that our teen pregnancy rates have continued to go down is due in large part to these cooperative efforts. But there is still much work to be done."
One of the state's oldest Local Councils on Teen Pregnancy Prevention has demonstrated great success in reducing teen pregnancy. Since 1982 the Caldwell Council on Adolescent Health has been working with the community, parents and with agencies such as APPCNC, the Caldwell County Health Department, the Caldwell County School System and DHHS to prevent adolescent pregnancy, the news release noted.
"In 1982, Caldwell County had the fourth highest rate of teen pregnancy in the state," said Kay Phillips, executive director of the council. "Today we are so proud to be number 68. It is our hope that the success we are experiencing will continue and the legislature will see the importance of ongoing funding for teen pregnancy prevention initiatives," said Phillips.
For more information about reducing teen pregnancy, parents can contact APPCNC at nc4fact@appcnc.or or 919-932-9885 / 1-800-NC4-FACT. More information on state and county teen pregnancy rates and numbers is on the State Center for Health Statistics Web site at www.schs.state.nc.us/SCHS/healthstats/pregnancies/2002.
The following figures were provided for counties in the Daily New's coverage area:
 |
 |
|
| Teacher enjoying her avocation | Variety is the theme for the season |
