Maine teen pregnancies down 42 percent

The number of babies born to Maine teenagers decreased by 42 percent between 1992 and 2001, according to a study released Tuesday by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. The national rate reduction was 30 percent for the same period.

If Maine had not reduced its teen birth rate, about 6,100 more children would have been born to girls 15 to 19 years old; nearly 2,100 of these children would now be under age 6, living in single-mother homes and in poverty, the study projects.

By reducing the incidence of births to teen mothers, Maine ranks fifth in the nation in decreasing the percentage of children living in poverty and 10th in decreasing the percentage of children living in single-parent homes. With just 1,280 – or 9.4 percent – of all babies born in Maine in 2000 born to teenage mothers, Maine ranked 10th lowest in the nation; Massachusetts had the lowest percentage at 6.6 percent, and Mississippi ranked highest, with 18.7 percent of all babies born to teen mothers. The average of all states was 11.9 percent.

The study and other information about preventing teen pregnancy can viewed online at www.teenpregnancy.org.