US Teen Birth Rate Drops

In the United States, birth rates by teenagers and young adult mothers declined last year, shows report. The birth rate among teens age 15-19 fell nine percent in 2010 compared to a year earlier, the largest single year drop since 1946-47, the US Department of Health and Human Services said in its National Vital Statistics Report.

At 34.3 births per 1,000 among teens, that marks "a record low for the nation," said the report.

Teenage birth rates have been falling steadily since 1991, and are now 44 percent lower than they were 20 years ago.

Women 20 to 24 years old also saw a drop of six percent in birth rate compared to 2009, with 2010's rate of 90 per births per 1,000 making it the "lowest level ever reported for the United States."

Meanwhile, the rate of births among women age 40-44 rose two percent from 2009 to 2010 -- reaching 10.2 births per 1,000 women -- the only age group to see an increase.

Births among women of all races in the United States declined, and the total number of US births was just over four million last year, dropping three percent from 2009.

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The number of caesarean deliveries leveled off in 2010 (32.8 percent) after a steady rise seen from 1996 to 2009, when they reached 32.9 percent.

The pre-term birth rate fell for the fourth year in a row to 11.99 percent in 2010, but still remains higher than any year in the span of 1981 to 2001.

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Source-AFP