Teenage pregnancy in the United States occurs mostly unintentionally[1] and out of wedlock[2] [3] but has been declining almost continuously since the 1990s.[1] [4] [5] In 2022, the teenage birth rate fell to 13.5 per 1,000 girls aged 15 to 19, the lowest on record.[6] According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this decline is due to abstinence and the use of contraception.[7] [3]
The averages conceal significant ethnic or geographic differences within the US.[8] The birth rates for Hispanic and African-American teens were more than double those of European-American teens,[9] while Asian-American adolescents have the lowest pregnancy and birth rates of all.[3] As of 2015, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi had the highest adolescent birth rates in the Union. (See map.)
Since 2012, the birth rate of American girls aged 15 to 19 has fallen below the OECD average, though it still remains above that of many other industrialized nations.[10] As of 2024, the rate of decline has faltered.[11]
Teen pregnancy is defined as pregnancies in girls under the age of 20, regardless of marital status.[12]
According to Child Trends research institute, prevalence of teen birth in the United States has plummeted between the early 1990s and 2020s. Teenage birth rates, as opposed to just pregnancies, peaked in 1991, when there were 61.8 births per 1,000 teens. In 2014, 249,078 babies were born to girls 15 to 19 years of age, corresponding to a birth rate of 24.2 per 1,000 girls. In 2016, three in ten American girls fell pregnant before age 20, corresponding to almost 750,000 pregnancies a year.[13]
In 2016, 89% of teenage births occurred outside of marriage. In 2008, 16% of all girls became teen mothers. Among girls 15 to 19, birth rates fell 77% between the 1990s and 2020s. In 2016, researchers from the Guttmacher Institute were able to show that the fall in teenage birthrates is likely not due to terminated pregnancies. The number of abortions remained the same or decreased in all U.S. states except for Vermont.[1]
In 2010, an estimated 60% pregnancies to adolescent females ended in live birth, 15% ended in miscarriage, and 30% in abortion.[14] The number of hospital stays for teen pregnancies decreased by 47 percent from 2000 to 2012, when there were 104,700 maternal hospital stays for pregnant teens.[15] Most of the adolescents who give birth are over the age of 18. For example, in 2008, 6.6 pregnancies occurred per 1,000 teens aged 13–14. In other words, fewer than 1% of teens younger than 15 became pregnant in 2008.
Contemporary teenagers are becoming better at avoiding pregnancies by abstinence or by using contraception.[16] A CDC analysis found that the rates of teens using a long-acting and reversible method of contraception, such as an intrauterine device (IUD), jumped from 0.4% in 2005 to 7.1% in 2013.[3] Adolescents are also less likely get married at their age.[17] In 2006, nearly 80% of teenage fathers did not marry the teenage mothers of their children.[18]
In a 2013 study, most female teens reported that they would be very upset (58%) or a little upset (29%) if they got pregnant, while the remaining 13% reported that they would be a little or very pleased. Most male teens reported that they would be very upset (47%) or a little upset (34%) if they got someone pregnant, while the remaining 18% reported that they would be a little or very pleased.
Girls who were cohabiting, poorly educated, drug abusers, alcoholics, and came from low-income or unstable households were at the highest risks of unintentional pregnancies.[19] [20] [21] Teenage fathers have 10-15% lower annual earnings than teenagers who do not father children. According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than four out of five, or 80%, of teenage pregnancies are unintended.
In 2002, according to the Journal of Pediatric Health Care, approximately 15% of all adolescent pregnancies were planned. Based upon interviews conducted with pregnant teenagers, there are particular themes based upon wants and needs. Some of the wants expressed by teens includes, "(a) the desire to be or be perceived as more grown up, with increased responsibility, independence and maturity; (b) a long history of desiring pregnancy and the maternal role; c) never having had anything to call their own and wanting something to care for and love and (d) the pregnancy was the natural next step in their life or their relationship with their boyfriend."[22]
In 2016, Black, Latino, and Native-American youth had the highest rates of teenage pregnancy and childbirth. In 2014, For every 1,000 black boys in the United States, 29 of them are teenage fathers, compared to 14 per 1,000 white boys. The rate of teen fatherhood declined 36% between 1991 and 2010, from 25 to 16 per 1,000 males aged 15–19. This decline was more substantial among blacks than among whites (50% vs. 26%) and about half of the rate among teen girls. Studies in 2008 and 2013 indicated that Asians (23 per 1,000) and whites (43 per 1,000) have lower rates of pregnancy before the age of 20.
Teen birth rates decline by racial groups
Teen birth rates declined from 2018 to 2019 for several racial groups and for Hispanics.Among 15- to 19-year-olds, teen birth rates decreased:
Rates for non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Natives (AI/AN), non-Hispanic Asians, and non-Hispanic Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander teenagers were unchanged.
In 2019, the birth rates for Hispanic teens (25.3 per 1,000) and non-Hispanic Black teens (25.8 per 1,000) were more than two times higher than the rate for non-Hispanic White teens (11.4 per 1,000). The birth rate of American Indian/Alaska Native teens (29.2 per 1,000) was highest among all race/ethnicities.
In 2013, the lowest birth rates were reported in the Northeast. The highest rates were located in the Southeast.
| US State | Pregnancy rate (per 1000) | Birthrate | Abortion rate | % Abortion rate excluding stillborns and miscarriages | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 62 | 32 | 9 | 17 | ||
| 64 | 27.8 | 17 | 30 | ||
| 60 | 29.9 | 9 | 18 | ||
| 73 | 39.5 | 9 | 14 | ||
| 59 | 21.1 | 19 | 38 | ||
| 50 | 20.3 | 10 | 20 | ||
| 44 | 11.5 | 20 | 52 | ||
| 15 | 20.7 | 28 | 47 | ||
| 90 | 28.4 | 32 | 41 | ||
| 60 | 22.5 | 19 | 38 | ||
| 64 | 28.4 | 13 | 24 | ||
| 65 | 23.1 | 23 | 42 | ||
| 47 | 23.2 | 7 | 17 | ||
| 57 | 22.8 | 15 | 32 | ||
| 53 | 28 | 7 | 16 | ||
| 44 | 19.8 | 9 | 23 | ||
| 53 | 27.6 | 5 | 12 | ||
| 62 | 35.3 | 6 | 12 | ||
| 69 | 35.8 | 10 | 18 | ||
| 37 | 16.5 | 10 | 31 | ||
| 57 | 17.8 | 22 | 45 | ||
| 37 | 10.6 | 14 | 46 | ||
| 52 | 21.1 | 14 | 32 | ||
| 36 | 15.5 | 8 | 25 | ||
| 76 | 38 | 9 | 14 | ||
| 54 | 27.2 | 9 | 19 | ||
| 53 | 26.4 | 10 | 21 | ||
| 43 | 22.2 | 5 | 14 | ||
| 68 | 28.5 | 20 | 34 | ||
| 28 | 11 | 8 | 35 | ||
| 51 | 13.1 | 24 | 55 | ||
| 80 | 37.8 | 15 | 22 | ||
| 63 | 16.1 | 32 | 58 | ||
| 59 | 25.9 | 12 | 24 | ||
| 42 | 23.9 | 6 | 18 | ||
| 54 | 25.1 | 12 | 25 | ||
| 69 | 38.5 | 8 | 13 | ||
| 47 | 19.3 | 12 | 29 | ||
| 49 | 13.8 | 15 | 35 | ||
| 44 | 15.8 | 16 | 41 | ||
| 65 | 28.5 | 13 | 23 | ||
| 47 | 26.2 | 4 | 11 | ||
| 62 | 33 | 9 | 18 | ||
| 73 | 37.8 | 9 | 15 | ||
| 38 | 19.4 | 4 | 13 | ||
| 32 | 14.2 | 9 | 34 | ||
| 48 | 18.4 | 14 | 33 | ||
| 49 | 19.1 | 16 | 37 | ||
| 64 | 36.6 | 9 | 17 | ||
| 39 | 18 | 7 | 21 | ||
| 56 | 30.1 | 8 | 17 |
In 2008, about 25% of teenage mothers had a second child within 24 months of the first birth.[23]
Parenting as a teenager has detrimental effects on the parents as well as the children. Pregnant teenage girls tend to gain less weight than older mothers, due to the fact that they are still growing and competing for nutrients with the baby during the pregnancy.[24] Teenage parents are considerably more likely to drop out of high school in order to work.[25] [26] This is because child-rearing is expensive and requires a lot of attention, and the typical teenager is unable to handle the responsibilities of schoolwork, earning a living, and childcare.
After becoming parents at such an early age, these teenagers often find themselves socially isolated from their peers. Following the Great Recession of the late 2000s, young people take longer to gain financial independence than their counterparts three decades ago. It is much harder for teenage parents to be able to support a family compared to the past, due to the competitive work environment.
Children born to teenage parents are more likely to be born prematurely, to do poorly at school, to live in poverty, and to suffer higher rates of relationship abuse. They tend to repeat the cycle of early childbearing out of wedlock, and early marriage of their parents.[27] The sons of teen mothers are 13% more likely to end up incarcerated, and the daughters of teenage mothers are 22% more likely to become teenage mothers. More than 25% of teen mothers live in poverty during their 20s.
Some high schools in the United States offer a program for pregnant and parenting teens to continue their education.[28]
A 2007 study found that when teen parents stay in school after being pregnant, they have a better chance of graduating high school.[29] In 2016, less than 2% of teen moms earn a college degree by age 30. Many of these programs offer on-campus childcare. Some require the pregnant and parenting teens to attend parenting classes or practicum classes. The parenting classes offer a place for these young parents to learn about the basic needs of a child. The practical classes offer a hands on experience caring for the children in the childcare center.
The United States has the highest rates of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases in developed countries.[30] The two primary reasons given by teenagers for not using protection is that the chance of becoming pregnant is small, and the failure to anticipate intercourse.[31]
The best method of reducing the consequences of teenage parenthood is by providing reproductive health services to prevent teenagers from becoming pregnant in the first place. Prevention can be beneficial on a micro level and on a more macro scale. Nationally, teen pregnancies cost tax payers an average of $9.4 billion each year. These costs are associated with health care, foster care, criminal justice, public assistance and lost tax revenue.
Teen pregnancies can be prevented by increasing access and education on the proper use of contraceptives, as well as parental involvement. The best method of prevention is to integrate sex and STD education into the middle and high school science curriculum, as well as addressing the effects of teenage pregnancies in the social studies curriculum.
In a 2007 study by the American Journal of Public Health, the US pregnancy rate can be predicted by analyzing two indexes, the contraceptive risk index and the overall pregnancy risk index.[32] Using these indexes with previous adolescent pregnancy data, 77% of the decline in pregnancy risk was attributed to contraceptive use. The conclusion from this studies and others, is that improved contraceptive use and teachings is responsible for the decline.
See main article: Prevalence of teenage pregnancy. There are large differences in adolescent pregnancy rates among developed nations like Canada, France, Great Britain, Sweden and the United States. The United States has the highest number of teen pregnancies and the highest number of sexually transmitted infections compared to the other four countries.[33]
In France and Sweden during the late 1990s, pregnancies were 20 per 1,000 girls at ages 15–19. In Canada and Great Britain the levels were twice that. In the United States, the level was 4 times as high, with 84 per 1,000 teenage girls pregnant. The likelihood of pregnant teenage girls having abortions across the four countries differ and exclude miscarriages. In the U.S. abortion rates for 15–19 years are 35%, compared to 69% in Sweden, 39% in Great Britain, 46% in Canada, and 51% in France.
The quality of sex education varies across the U.S, with some states offering more comprehensive education than others. 39 states require "some" education related to sexuality. 25 states are required by law to teach sex and HIV education. 17 states only require the teaching of STIs. 20 states require provision of information on contraception. 39 states are required to provide information on abstinence. Eleven states have no requirement.[34]
In a 2014 paper, economists Melissa S. Kearney and Phillip B. Levine, both fellows of the Brookings Institution, were able to show that popular TV programs depicting the reality of teenage parenthood, such as MTV's 16 and Pregnant and its sequels (Teen Mom, Teen Mom 2, Teen Mom 3, ), have played a significant role in the reduction of teenage childbearing.[35] The girls who watched any one of these shows also reported being able to predict the behaviors and intentions that result in teenage pregnancy.[36]