Local teen birth rates are following state and national trends downward, according to a recent Center for Disease Control and Prevention report and state records.
In 2014 Lowndes, Oktibbeha, Clay and Noxubee each logged the fewest number of teen births for their respective counties since 1980, according to statistics from the Mississippi Department of Health.
Births to teen mothers aged 15 to 19 between 2006 and 2014 fell from 48 to seven in Clay County; from 148 to 69 in Lowndes County; from 65 to 26 in Oktibbeha County; and from 41 to 16 in Noxubee County.
Rates dropping nation-wide
Those drops reflect a national trend.
The national teen birth rate is also the lowest ever recorded, according to the CDC’s report, which was published at the end of April.
In its report, the CDC compiled the birth rate for states for 2013-14, and showed the percentage change from 2006-07.
For Mississippi, the birth rate among 15-19 year olds was 40.3 per 1,000 for 2013-14, which is 41.3 percent lower than it was in 2006-07.
The rate is still among the highest in the country, with only New Mexico, (40.5), Oklahoma (40.7) and Arkansas (41.5) reporting higher rates.
Rates by race
Nationally, the CDC found that, while the birth rates for minority groups remain higher than those for whites, they decreased the most among Hispanics, with a 51 percent drop from 77.4 to 38.0. Blacks saw a 44 percent drop, from 61.9 to 34.9, and the teen birth rate among whites fell 35 percent, from 26.7 to 17.3.
That trend held true in Mississippi. The teen birth rate in Mississippi fell 61.4 percent among Hispanics, to 41.5 per 1,000; 43.6 percent among blacks, to 48.6 per 1,000; and 35.9 percent among whites to 33.2 per 1,000.
Reasons for changes
Mary Currier, a health officer with the Mississippi Department of Health, said initiatives to focus on the issue of teen pregnancies seem to be successful in Mississippi.
“The governor’s had a statewide teen pregnancy effort that I think has worked to shine issues on teen births and pregnancies and the problems with girls becoming moms too young,” Currier said.
Currier also pointed to things she said have been proven to work across the country–access to birth control or hormonal implants to help prevent girls from getting pregnant, and evidence-based sexual education in school.
“Those evidence-based programs help girls make decisions,” Currier said. “They help delay the onset of sexual activity and help those who do choose to have sex prevent pregnancy.
“There’s been a delay in the onset of sexual activity for teens across the country,” she added. “It’s hard to know the exact reason, but those are some factors.”
MDOH is also working to expand its outreach to teens.
“That’s something we as an agency have been working on for the last several years, to be more teen friendly so teens feel they can have services if they need them,” she said. “We want teens to wait until they’re older or preferably married, but we know there are teens who are going to have sex. We don’t want to leave them out of the equation.”
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Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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