CDC: Birth Rates Still Falling, Particularly Among Teens
According to a report released on Thursday by the National Center for Health Statistics at CDC, the U.S. birth rate declined for the third consecutive year in 2010, marked by an especially steep decrease among teenagers. The largest decline was among teens ages 15 through 19, whose birth rate reached the lowest level since the government began tracking the data 70 years ago. The report also found that the preterm birth rate declined to about 12% in 2010 -- a 6% decline from 2006 -- which experts attribute in part to efforts by medical groups to discourage medically unnecessary labor inductions before 39 weeks of gestation.
- "Is Economy Best Birth Control? U.S. Births Dip Again" (Stobbe, AP/Contra Costa Times, 11/17).
- "Birth Rate Continues To Slide Among Teens" (Martin, Wall Street Journal, 11/18).
- "C-Section Rate Falls for the First Time in 15 Years" (Roan, "Booster Shots," Los Angeles Times, 11/17).