U.S., Mo. teen birth rates steadily decline

Missouri’s teenage birth rate hasgradually declined during the past 10 years, which is in line with the national rate, but experts say the problem is far from solved.

The U.S. teenage birth rate reached an all-time low of 41.2 births per 1,000 in 2004, down 33 percent from 61.8 per 1,000 in 1991, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Possible causes of the decline include delayed sex and more contraception use, another study by the organization shows.

In Missouri, the teen birth rate per 1,000 girls ages 15 to 19 declined from 70.1 to 52.2 during the past decade, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. At the same t ime, the teen pregnancy rate per 1,000 girls dropped from 55.1 to 42.7.

“There’s constantly a new group of teenagers,” said Kimberly Allen, director at the Center for Adolescent Sexuality, Pregnancy and Parenting at MU Extension. “We have to keep working to make sure the new teenagers are hearing the message.”

Boone County’s teen pregnancy rate is on the lower end among all counties in the state. By August 2005, it stood at 20.7 per 1,000 females, compared to 105.1 in Pemiscot County, the highest teen pregnancy rate in Missouri.

Boone County’s teen birth rate has declined over the long term, but it has fluctuated in some years. From 1999 to 2004, teen births by girls ages 17 and younger went down about 41 percent, according to the Columbia/Boone County Health Department. But there were several years when teen birth numbers changed abruptly.

“For example, we had several teen births by some girls who came here because of Hurricane Katrina,” said Maureen Coy, social services specialist at Columbia/Boone County Health Department, explaining the increase of teen births in 2005.

Despite a national decline in both teen pregnancy and births, the U.S. has the highest rates of teen pregnancy, birth and abortion in the fully industrialized world.

Four out of 10 girls become pregnant at least once before age 20, according to a 2002 study by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, an organization advocating teen pregnancy prevention based in Washington, D.C.

“The primary challenge for the nation is complacency,” said Bill Albert, the organization’s deputy director. “It’s important that we keep attention on this, despite the accomplishments we have made.”