Teen Pregnancies Continue to Drop in US

May is Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month in the US (I'll bet you didn't know that), and the Centers for Disease Control have highlighted data showing that the teen birth rate continues to drop in this country. CBS News had coverage of the story.

The nation's record-low teen birth rate stems from robust declines in nearly every state, but most dramatically in several Mountain States and among Hispanics, according to a new government report. 

All states but West Virginia and North Dakota showed significant drops over five years. But the Mountain States of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and Utah saw rates fall by 30 percent or more.

In 22 states, teen Hispanic birth rates plunged at least 40 percent, which was described as "just amazing," by the report's lead author, Brady Hamilton of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

No one is certain of the reasons for the continued decline, but one can hope that it is related to the realization among girls that their life will be a lot better off (and their children will be better off) if they can postpone having a child. Although the overall rate is declining, it is still the case that less than one-fourth of babies born to teen moms are intended, clearly suggesting the need to continue spreading the word about birth control, as I mentioned almost three years ago on this same topic.