Thursday, May 23, 2013

Teen birth rate drops, especially among Hispanics - Vitals

Teen birth rate drops, especially among Hispanics - Vitals: Across the nation fewer and fewer teens are giving birth, especially Hispanic girls, according to a new government report.

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that from 2007 to 2011, the overall rate of teen births plummeted a full 30 percent. The biggest decline was among Hispanic teens, whose birth rate dropped 34 percent. Among non-Hispanic black teens there was a decline of 24 percent. Among white, non-Hispanic teens, the rate decreased by 20 percent.

“The thing that surprised me most was the big decline in rates for Hispanics: at least 40 percent in 22 states and the District of Columbia,” said Brady Hamilton, a report co-author and a statistician at the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.