JULY 2015
Fast Facts
Teen Pregnancy and Childbearing Among Latina Teens
Teen pregnancy and birth rates are at historic lows. There
has also been impressive progress in all 50 states and among
all racial/ethnic groups. Even so, the success has been uneven.
Despite a steady decrease in the teen pregnancy and birth
rates among Latina teens over the last decade, their rates
remain much higher than rates for teens overall. It is also
the case that the Latino population is the largest and fastest
growing minority group in the United States—by 2020, it is
estimated that one-quarter of all teens will be Latino.1
FIGURE 1. Pregnancy Rates Among Latina Teens by Age
Group, 1990-2010
300
250
242.4
200
Key Facts
158.9
•
The Details: Pregnancy Data
Overall
The pregnancy rate for all teens declined 51% between 1990
(the peak year for teen pregnancy) and 2010.3 The pregnancy
rate among Latina teens decreased 49% over this same period
(from 162.2 to 83.5 pregnancies per 1,000 Latina teens), and
fell by 22% just since 2008. The Latina teen pregnancy rate is
somewhat lower than the rate among non-Hispanic black teen
girls (83.5 compared to 99.5), and is more than double the rate
for non-Hispanic white teen girls (37.8).
15-17 Years
18-19 Years
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
50
1995
61.1
Roughly 1 in 3 Latina teens got pregnant at least once
before age 20—one and a half times the national
average.4
Ongoing declines in both the pregnancy and birth rates
for Latina teens suggest a more optimistic outlook. Both
rates have fallen nearly continuously since 1990.
83.5
1994
•
113.0
100
1993
The teen pregnancy rate, which factors in both those
pregnancies that ended in a birth and those that did
not, was 83.5 per 1,000 Latina teens age 15-19 in 2010
(the most recent pregnancy data available).3
150
1992
•
162.2
1991
The birth rate was 38.0 births per 1,000 Latina teens age
15-19 in 2014 (the most recent data available).2
1990
•
15-19 Years
By Age Group
In 2009 (the most recent data available by race/ethnicity
and age), the majority of pregnancies to Latina teens occurred
among 18-19 year-olds, and the pregnancy rate among Latina
teens age 18-19 was nearly triple that among girls age 15-17
(Figure 1).5
•
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The teen pregnancy rate for Latina teens under age 15 was
1.9 per 1,000 in 2009. There was a 14% decrease in the rate
between 2008 and 2009, and there has been an overall decrease of 57% since 1990. There were approximately 4,000
pregnancies to Latina teens under age 15 in 2009.
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•
•
The teen pregnancy rate for Latina teens age 15-17 was
61.1 per 1,000 in 2009. There was a 12% decrease in the
rate between 2008 and 2009, and there has been an overall
decrease of 46% since 1990. There were approximately
79,000 pregnancies to Latina teens age 15-17 in 2009.
The teen pregnancy rate for Latina teens age 18-19 was
158.9 per 1,000 in 2009. There was a 10% decrease in the
rate between 2008 and 2009, and there has been an overall
decrease of 34% since 1990. There were approximately
136,000 pregnancies to Latina teens age 18-19 in 2009.
FIGURE 2. Birth Rates Among Latina Teens by Age Group,
1991-2014
200
155.5
150
104.6
100
By State
•
69.2
Pregnancy rates for Latina teens vary by state. In 2010 (the
most recent data available by state), these rates ranged
from a low of 29 per 1,000 in Vermont to a high of 113 per
1,000 in Georgia.3
66.1
50
38
19.3
State specific pregnancy rates by race/ethnicity are available in the Data section of The National Campaign website
at http://www.TheNationalCampaign.org/data/.
0
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
•
15-19
The Details: Birth Data
Latina teens currently have the highest birth rate among all
teens—more than one and a half times higher than the overall
teen birth rate.2
By Age Group
In 2014, older teens (age 18-19) accounted for the majority
of births to Latina teens, similar to teens overall. In fact, among
Latina teens, 69% of births to girls age 15-19 were to older
teens (Figure 2).2
•
The birth rate for Latina teens age 10-14 was 0.4 per 1,000
in 2014. There was a decrease of 20% between 2013 and
2014, and an overall decrease of 83% since 1991. There
were 1,039 births to Latinas younger than age 15 in 2014.
15-17
•
The birth rate for Latinas age 15-17 was 19.3 per 1,000
in 2014. There was a decrease of 12% between 2013 and
2014, and an overall decrease of 72% since 1991. There
were 26,294 births to Latinas age 15-17 in 2014.
•
The birth rate for Latinas age 18-19 was 66.1 per 1,000 in
2014. There was a decrease of 7% between 2013 and 2014,
and an overall decrease of 57% since 1991. There were
59,694 births to Latinas age 18-19 in 2014.
Overall
The birth rate among all teens age 15-19 declined 61%
between 1991 and 2014.2 The birth rate among Latina teens
decreased 64% during this same period (from 104.6 to 38.0
births per 1,000 Latina teens respectively), and fell by 9% in the
last year alone. Additional breakouts by age, parity, marital status, and state are available through 2012 or 2014, as described
below.
18-19
By Parity
•
Most births to Latina teens are first births. In 2014, 81%
of births to Latina teens age 15-19 were first births—17%
were second births and the remainder were births to Latinas who had two or more previous births.2
•
Among all Latina teen mothers, 20% will have at least one
additional birth by the time they reach age 20.6
By State
•
In 2012, Latina teen birth rates varied from a low of 28.2
per 1,000 Latina teens in Florida to a high of 67.4 per 1,000
in Oklahoma.7
•
State specific birth rates by race/ethnicity are available
in the Data section of The National Campaign website at
http://www.TheNationalCampaign.org/data/.
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About the Data
Teen pregnancy and birth statistics reported by The National
Campaign are derived from published sources. There are currently two similar but distinct time series for teen pregnancy,
one reported by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
and the other reported by the Guttmacher Institute. In both
series, teen pregnancy is calculated using data from: NCHS
(number of births); the Center for Chronic Disease Prevention
and Health Promotion (CCDPHP) within CDC (age and race/
ethnicity distribution of women obtaining abortions); and the
Guttmacher Institute (total number of abortions). Teen pregnancy statistics also include estimates of fetal loss, for which
NCHS relies on data from the National Survey of Family Growth,
while Guttmacher estimates fetal loss to be 20% of births plus
10% of abortions.3,5 Pregnancy rates for teens overall, Latina
teens age 15-19, and Latina teens age 15-19 by state are based
on data reported by the Guttmacher Institute and reported
through 2010 (state-level rates available for 26 states). Breakouts for additional age categories are based on data reported
by NCHS and reported through 2009.
The birth data are reported by NCHS. More information about
NCHS birth data is available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_
access/vitalstats/VitalStats_Births.htm. For more information
about how the percentage ever pregnant by age 20 statistic is
calculated, please see “Fast Facts: How is the “Roughly 1 in 4”
Statistic Calculated?” available at http://www.TheNationalCampaign.org/data.
This analysis was funded in part by grant U88/CCU32213905 from the Division of Reproductive Health (DRH) within the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are
solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily
represent the official views of DRH.
Sources:
1.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2015). Table 1. Projected Population by Single Year of Age, Sex,
Race, and Hispanic Origin for the United States: 2014 to 2060. Retrieved July 6, 2015,
from https://www.census.gov/population/projections/data/national/2014.html.
2.
Hamilton, B.E., Martin, J.A., Osterman, M.J.K., & Curtin, S.C. (2015). Births: Preliminary
Data for 2014. National Vital Statistics Reports , 64(6), 1-18. Retrieved from http://www.
cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_06.pdf.
3.
Kost, K., & Henshaw, S. (2014). U.S. Teenage Pregnancies, Births and Abortions, 2010: National and State Trends by Age, Race and Ethnicity. New York, NY: Guttmacher Institute.
Retrieved from http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/USTPtrends10.pdf.
4.
Author tabulations based on data in Curtin, S.C., Abma, J.A., Ventura, S.J., & Henshaw,S.K.
(2013). Pregnancy Rates for U.S. Women Continue to Drop. NCHS Data Brief, 136, 1-8.
Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db136.htm.
5.
Curtin, S.C., Abma, J.C., Ventura, S.J., & Henshaw S.K. (2013). Pregnancy Rates for U.S.
Women Continue to Drop. National Center for Health Statistics, Data Brief, No. 123.
Retrieved December 5, 2013, from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db136.htm.
6.
Author tabulations based on data in Centers for Disease Control (CDC). (2014). VitalStats—Births [Data file]. Available from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/vitalstats.htm.
7.
Hamilton, B.E., Matthews, T.J., & Ventura, S.J. (2013).Declines in State Teen Birth Rates by
Race and Hispanic Origin. NCHS Data Brief, No. 123. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for
Health Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db123.pdf.
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