Teen Births Hit Record Low

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported the lowest teenage pregnancy numbers since the organization began tracking the information close to 70 years ago.

The report found that the birthrate for Americans between the ages of 15 to 19 dropped in the last three years, and 17 out of the previous 19 years over all. The birthrate was 34.3 births per 1,000 teenagers in 2010, which is down 9 percent from the previous year. The historic decline was true for all ethnicities as well as both younger and older teenagers.

Other findings from the CDC are that the total number of United States births dropped to 4,000,279 in 2010 from 4,130,665 in 2009, a 3 percent decrease. The birth rate for women in their early 20s decreased by 6 percent, while the birthrate for women in their early 40s grew to 10.2.

Also, the overall United State fertility rate decreased by 3 percent. In 2009, there were 66.2 births for every 1,000 females, and last year that number dropped to 64.1, the third straight decline for overall fertility.

The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics report "Births: Preliminary Data for 2010" is compiled from almost 100 percent of American birth records.

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