North Carolinas teen pregnancy rate hit a 30-year low last year, according to new data from the state Department of Health and Human Services. Teenage girls in North Carolina had 217 fewer pregnancies in 2008 than in 2007.
The data shows that 58.6 out of every 1,000 girls ages 15 to 19 became pregnant in 2008. The new rate reflects a 7 percent decrease from the 2007 rate of 63 per 1,000 girls. A small portion of this decrease can be attributed to a change in the way the state demographer calculates total population.
Teen pregnancy rates in North Carolina have consistently decreased since 1991, following a spike in the late 1980s, according to DHHS. Pregnancy rates fell across all age, racial and ethnic categories, as well as in all but 25 North Carolina counties. Abortion rates also decreased in all categories.
Labels: pregnancy
Posted By: Aspen/CRC
