The teenage birth rate dropped to an historic low according to an April 2012 report released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (PDF). According to the report, the birth rate dropped 9 percent between 2009 and 2010. The birth rate for 2010 was the lowest since 1946.
Laura Lindberg of the Guttmacher Institute told US News, “If we’re going to stand up and applaud these declines in the teen birth rate as a positive social outcome, we need to provide teenagers and young adults with contraceptives. Any effort to roll back access to contraception for teenagers might result in a reversal of these numbers.”
The CDC report cites use of contraception as a main factor in the decline. The report also credits the use of two birth control methods at the same time, such as birth control pills and condoms. Birth rates dropped across all racial and ethnic groups, though Hispanic teenagers continue to have the highest birth rate. The teen birth rate is highest in the Southern states and lowest in the Northeastern states.
