A star of MTV’s reality show “Teen Mom” with her son in footage from 2009. It seems like every time we turn on MTV we see teenage moms, thanks to the success of the network’s “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom” shows. Outside of reality TV, however, the teenage pregnancy rate has actually dropped dramatically from its highs; it fell to a nearly 40-year-low in 2008, according to a new report . Stats from the Guttmacher Institute show that the pregnancy rate among teens aged 15-19 that year fell to about 7%, or 67.8 pregnancies per 1,000 women in that age group. Birth and abortion rates also fell among teens in 2008. The teen birthrate fell to about 4%, while the abortion rate fell to about 1.8%. That’s the lowest rate since abortion was legalized. The teen pregnancy rate peaked at about 11.7% in 1990, while the birthrate peaked at more than

6% in 1991 and the abortion rate at over 4%  in 1988. Despite the declines, there are still “large and long-standing disparities in rates by race and ethnicity,” the report says. The pregnancy rate among black teens, for example, has fallen, but is still nearly 12% — higher than for non-Hispanic whites. The pregnancy rate among Hispanic teens was almost 11% in 2008. Rates of birth and abortion are also higher in black and Hispanic teens than in whites. The report says previous research suggests the drop in the pregnancy rate springs from improved contraceptive use and, to a lesser extent, reduced sexual activity. Figures out from the CDC last fall showed that more teens are using birth control when they first have sex. The Guttmacher Institute is a reproductive-health nonprofit that favors contraception and abortion rights. Photo: Associated Press

Original post:
Teen Pregnancy, Birth, Abortion Rates Drop: Report