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The birthrate for American teenagers dropped to 20.3 births per 1,000 girls aged 15-19 in 2016, according to the latest fertility data released by the National Center for Health Statistics. That number represents a 9 percent decline from 2015 and a 67 percent decline from the modern peak in 1991. All told, it is the lowest teen birthrate since 1940.
Just 40 percent of teen mothers graduate high school, and less than 2 percent graduate college by the age of 30.
It’s difficult to determine whether the drop in teen parenthood has been spearheaded by federally funded programs, or if it’s simply riding a 25-year downward trend. Many have credited the wider use of contraceptives— especially highly effective measures such as birth control pills and intrauterine devices — with much of the decline. A reduction in childhood lead exposure, which can lead to impairment of judgment and impulse control, has also been posited as a major factor.
But public health experts also argue that public support for sex education and pregnancy prevention among teens, particularly the Obama-era Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, has played a key role as well.
Read the full article about teen pregnancy at a record low by Kevin Mahnken at The 74.