Teen Births in United States

United States

Substantial social, economic and health costs are associated with teen pregnancy and child-rearing. Teenage mothers are significantly more likely to drop out of high school and face unemployment. The children of teen mothers also have a higher risk of mental health issues, aggression and behavior problems, academic difficulties, continuous delinquent behavior and becoming teen mothers themselves. 

Some experts have predicted that the 2022 Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade will lead to more negative outcomes for teens with an unintended pregnancy, particularly for high-risk teens, who have lower access to quality sexual and reproductive care and sexual education. 

Social stigma surrounding teen pregnancy creates significant stress for young mothers, making it harder for them to succeed. Teen mothers may experience stigma in health care settings, schools, and their communities. Stigmatization can cause feelings of isolation and shame, negative interactions with health care providers and barriers to accessing resources, all of which contribute to poorer health outcomes for teen mothers and their babies.

Teen births have declined steadily over the last several decades, but disparities persist. The rate of teen pregnancy is higher among:

• Teenagers ages 18-19, who have a rate 4.5 times higher than those ages 15-17. 
• Teenagers who have been in foster care compared with those who have never been in foster care. 
• American Indian/Alaska Native, Hispanic, Black and Hawaiian/Pacific Islander teenagers compared with non-Hispanic white and Asian teenagers. 
• Teenagers living in lower-income counties compared with those from higher-income counties.
• Teenagers from counties with lower average educational attainment compared with those from counties with higher educational attainment.
• Teenagers living in rural counties compared with those in urban counties.

Effective teen pregnancy prevention strategies include:

• Federal and state policies supporting:
  • Access to family planning services, which is linked to lower teen birth rates.
  • Comprehensive risk-reduction sex education in schools, which has proven effective at increasing use of contraception and decreasing sexual activity, prevalence of sexually transmitted infections and teen pregnancies. 
• Delaying sexual intercourse: Abstinence is the only method guaranteed to prevent pregnancy. 
• Contraceptive use (birth control): More than 86% of sexually active teens used birth control the last time they had sex, but very few use the most effective forms of birth control.
  • Long-acting reversible contraception (LARC), which includes implants and intrauterine devices (IUDs), is more effective at preventing pregnancy than the more commonly used external condoms and birth control pills. 
  • Dual contraception use: According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the ideal contraceptive practice for sexually active adolescents is dual contraceptive use — using both a condom and another method more effective at preventing unwanted pregnancies, such as implants or IUDs.
  • ACOG recommends that physicians routinely address adolescent contraceptive needs, expectations and concerns regardless of a patient’s age or previous sexual activity.

The American Academy of Pediatrics provides strategies to promote youth access to sexual and reproductive health services. Child Trends has also published a research brief on school-based strategies to improve access to and quality of sexual and reproductive health services for students

Healthy People 2030 has an objective to reduce the teen pregnancy rate, as well as several other related family planning goals.

“ACOG Committee Opinion No. 710: Counseling Adolescents About Contraception.” Obstetrics & Gynecology 130, no. 2 (August 2017): e74–80. https://doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0000000000002234.

Beltz, Martha A., Vanessa H. Sacks, Kristin A. Moore, and Mary Terzian. “State Policy and Teen Childbearing: A Review of Research Studies.” Journal of Adolescent Health 56, no. 2 (February 1, 2015): 130–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2014.11.001.

Cederbaum, Julie A., Chung H. Jeong, Chaoyue Yuan, and Jungeun Olivia Lee. “Sex and Substance Use Behaviors among Children of Teen Mothers: A Systematic Review.” Journal of Adolescence 79 (February 1, 2020): 208–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2020.01.008.

Hamilton, Brady E. “QuickStats: Birth Rates for Females Aged 15–19 Years, by Age Group — National Vital Statistics System, United States, 1991–2021.” MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 72, no. 3 (January 20, 2023): 83. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7203a8.

Hamilton, Brady E., Lauren M. Rossen, and Amy M. Branum. “Teen Birth Rates for Urban and Rural Areas in the United States, 2007-2015.” NCHS Data Brief No. 264. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, November 2016. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27849147/.

Romero, Lisa, Karen Pazol, Lee Warner, Shanna Cox, Charlan Kroelinger, Ghenet Besera, Anna Brittain, Taleria R. Fuller, Emilia Koumans, and Wanda Barfield. “Reduced Disparities in Birth Rates Among Teens Aged 15–19 Years — United States, 2006–2007 and 2013–2014.” MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 65, no. 16 (April 29, 2016): 409–14. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6516a1.

SmithBattle, Lee, Sarah Bekaert, Wisitsri Phengnum, and Joanne Schneider. “Untangling Risky Discourse with Evidence: A Scoping Review of Outcomes for Teen Mothers’ Offspring.” Children and Youth Services Review 161 (June 2024): 107609. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2024.107609.

Wittenberg, Jean-Victor P., Lois T. Flaherty, Daniel F. Becker, Gordon Harper, Jake M. Crookall, Natasha Vianna, and Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry, Committee on Adolescence. “Stigma as a Source of Stress for Adolescent Mothers and Their Babies.” Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease 210, no. 9 (September 2022): 650–54. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000001545.