The teen birth rate declined 8 percent between 2007 and 2009, hitting a historic low of 39.1 births per 1,000 teens ages 15 to 19, according to a new analysis from the National Center for Health Statistics.
Moreover, the rates fell significantly for teens in all age groups and all racial and ethnic groups, pushing the rate for each age group and for nearly all race and ethnic groups to the lowest levels ever reported, according to the analysis.
The new statistics confirm the government's preliminary analysis of the national data that was released in December. That showed the birth rate had dropped 6 percent between 2008 and 2009--the second year in a row that the birthrate among teens fell. The 8 percent two-year decline bolstered hopes that an alarming 5 percent increase over the two previous years was an aberration.
The birth rate for young teens ages 15 to 17 fell 6 percent between 2008 and 2009, the largest single-year drop since 2001. The rate for older teens, ages 18 and 19, also fell 6 percent, which was the largest single-year decline since 1972. The number of births to teenagers in 2009 fell to 409,840, which is the fewest since 1946 and 36 percent fewer than in 1970, which was the highest in history.
