Data released last week from the National Center for Health Statistics showed that the birthrate for teenagers 15 to 19 dropped 9 percent between 2013 and 2014. That’s a new historic low and the continuation of a long trend. Since 1991, the teenage birthrate has dropped 61 percent.
The national birthrate in 2014 of teenage mothers was 24.2 per 1,000 teenage women.
One analyst interviewed by Buzzfeed suggested that MTV shows “Teen Mom” and “16 and Pregnant” had in effect scared some teenagers straight, convinced them of the sobering reality of pregnancy.
As you can see above, Arkansas has made significant strides in its teenage birthrate in recent years, but it still had the unwelcome distinction of having the highest rate in the country in 2014 — 39.5 for every 1,000 15- to 19-year-olds.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Arkansas also had the highest pregnancy rate among 20- to 24-year-olds (115.2; the national rate was 79) and one of the lowest among 30- to 34-year-olds (81.8; the national rate was 100.8) and 35- to 35-year-olds (32.6; the national rate was 51).