U.S. Pregnancy Rate at 20-Year Low, Report Says

The U.S. pregnancy rate is the lowest it has been in 20 years, with the sharpest drop among teenagers, the government said Friday.

Increased use of condoms, injectable contraceptives and implants, as well as a leveling off of teenage sexual activity, are all responsible, the National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report.

It said the number of all recorded pregnancies, including those that ended in miscarriage or abortion, fell from 6.78 million in 1990 to 6.24 million in 1996, the last year for which complete figures are available.

“The pregnancy rate in 1996 was 104.7 pregnancies per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years, 9% lower than in 1990 and the lowest rate since 1976,” the NCHS said in a statement.

Of all these pregnancies in 1996, 3.9 million resulted in live births, 1.3 million ended in abortions and another million were recorded as miscarriages or stillbirths.

“Overall, U.S. women are currently averaging two live births, 0.7 induced abortions and 0.5 miscarriages and stillbirths, or a total of 3.2 pregnancies each,” the statement said.

The teenage pregnancy rate fell 15% from 117 per 1,000 in 1991 to 99 per 1,000 in 1996, the report said.

Teens in richer neighborhoods were less likely to get pregnant, as were teens living with two parents, the report found.

“The report documents striking differences in pregnancy rates by race and ethnicity, reflecting disparities in education, income, access to medical care and the communities in which they live,” the statement said.

“Black women report they want about the same number of births as white women, but black women average 4.6 pregnancies per woman, compared with just 2.7 for white women,” the statement said.

“Only 39% of black women’s pregnancies result in wanted births, compared with about 60% for Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women.”