A startling report came to our notice way back in 2006 that pregnant teens smoke on purpose to encounter less pain during labor. While, we do not know how much of it is to be believed, such issues sure sound disturbing. Now, a study by professionals from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has unfolded that the birth rate for teens in the U. S aged 15 to 19 years apparently reached a record low in 2010.
For the analysis, birth records were gathered from nearly 50 states around the U.S. The results showed that the birth rate for the aforesaid teens seemingly stooped to 34.3 births every 1,000 teenagers in 2010. This is supposedly a 9% decline since 2009 and the lowest rate according to the data collected for 7 decades.
Furthermore, teen births in the U.S seemed to reduce by 3% while the overall fertility rate also witnessed a fall by 3%. The number of births to unmarried mothers also reportedly fell for the second consecutive year.
Notably, the birth rate for unmarried mothers dropped to 47.7 every 1,000 unmarried mothers in 2010, unlike 49.9 seen in 2009. Nearly 41% of unmarried mothers gave birth to babies in 2009 as compared to 40.8% in 2010, as stated in the report.
Also, the rate of premature birth lowered in 2010, being the fourth year in line to observe such a decline. In 2010, the rate of preterm birth seemed to be a meager 12% which is 6% less than the rate observed in 2006.
The rate of babies with low weight during birth remained consistent in 2009 and 2010, at 8.2%. Though, it is slightly less than the rate of 8.3 seen in 2006. The report ‘Births: Preliminary Data for 2010’ basically presented that teen birth rate had been considerably less in 2010.