Teen Fertility

Indicator Definition 
Births to teens (ages 15–19 years), per 1,000.

Teen fertility rate in Colorado7*

Teen fertility rate by select counties in Colorado8

Indicator Significance
In the United States, birth rates among adolescents aged 15–19 years decreased annually from 1991–2005 but increased from 2005–2007. The rate rose from 40.5 live births per 1,000 adolescent females in 2005 to 42.5 in 2007. According to a national survey, the majority of pregnancies among adolescents are unintended (unwanted or mistimed) at conception. Among females aged 15–17 years, 88 percent of births during the preceding five years were the result of unintended pregnancies.¹

Teenage childbearing presents a challenge to both teen mothers and their children. Only one-third of teen mothers complete high school. Women who give birth as teenagers face a significant disadvantage when competing in the job market and significantly increase the likelihood of raising their children in poverty. Children born to teen mothers also experience increased health risks including low birth weight and a range of developmental delays and disabilities. Teen pregnancy has been estimated to cost the United States $7 billion each year in excess health care costs.²

Colorado Specifics
Estimates indicate that a baby is born to a teen mother every four hours in Colorado. According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, teen pregnancy-related expenses cost Colorado taxpayers at least $167 million in 2004.³ Teen pregnancy in Colorado disproportionately affects the Hispanic community with a rate of 107 births per 1,000 teens aged 15–19 in 2006. While the fertility rate has decreased for white, Asian and American Indian teens, it has changed little for Hispanic teens in recent years. Certain counties in Colorado have higher rates than others as well. For example, in the Metro Denver area, Denver and Adams counties have relatively high rates compared to Boulder and Douglas counties.⁴

Promising Initiatives
Making Proud Choices! is an eight-module curriculum that empowers young adolescents to decrease pregnancy risk by developing skills to negotiate abstinence and safe sex practices such as condom use. Through the curriculum, teens are educated about practical ways they can reduce their risk of becoming infected with HIV and other STDs and also the risk of pregnancy. The program has been found to be especially effective with sexually active teens who were active when they started the course.⁵

The Making Proud Choices! curriculum is usually implemented with small groups ranging from 6-12 participants, but it can be adapted to larger groups. The Colorado Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Parenting and Prevention conducts trainings for teachers, health educators and other community members who plan to implement the program in various community settings including schools and youth services agencies. Durango School District recently went through the Making Proud Choices! training in August 2009 and plans are underway to implement the curriculum.⁶

Teen fertility rate⁹

Text

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Sexual and Reproductive Health of Persons Aged 10-24 Years-United States, 2002–2007.”
   
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “New Report Shows Teen Births Drop to Lowest Level Ever”; November 21, 2006.
   
3. National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. “By the Numbers: The Public Costs of Teen Childbearing”; October 2006.
   
4. Colorado Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Parenting and Prevention. “The State of Adolescent Sexual Health in Colorado 2007.”
   
   The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. “Colorado State Profile.”
   
   
5. Resource Center for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, Evidence-based programs.
   
6. Colorado Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Parenting, and Prevention.
   

Charts

7. Source: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Vital Statistics, 2000–2007.
   
   * Note: Teen fertility rates from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) differ slightly from rates that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) uses to rank states. The numerator used by CDPHE includes births reported after data have been sent to NCHS. For the denominator, CDPHE uses population estimates from the Colorado State Demography Office; NCHS uses population estimates from the Census Bureau. The 2006 value for Colorado from NCHS was 43.8/1,000 compared with 39.2/1,000 from CDPHE.
   
   
8. Source: Colorado Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Parenting and Prevention, “State of Adolescent Health”; Table 1.
   
9. Source: Source: National Vital Statistics System, 2006, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.