Health and Family

Teen Pregnancy

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Teen Pregnancy

Teen pregnancy is closely linked to a host of problems for both the parents and the child. Virginia is addressing the full spectrum of social issues that contribute to teen pregnancy.

Why is This Important?

Teen pregnancy is a critical public health issue that affects the health, educational, social and economic future of the mother and child. Teen pregnancy is closely linked to numerous other important social issues as well: Welfare dependency, out-of-wedlock births, responsible fatherhood, and workforce development are all of particular concern.

Adolescents are less likely to seek out prenatal care because they are afraid, embarrassed or simply ignorant. This lack of prenatal care, coupled with the mother's usually immature physical development, result in higher rates of low-birth weight babies than in other age groups. As the offspring of adolescent mothers grow, they are more apt than other children to have health and cognitive problems and to be the victims of neglect or abuse.

How is Virginia Doing?

Birth Rate among Teens, by State.  See text for explanation.The rates for both teen pregnancies and teen births have declined in Virginia and across the nation. In 1995, the birth rate for Virginia teens was 48.4 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19 years old. By 2005, this rate had decreased to 34.4 births per 1,000 females (15 to 19 years old), compared to the national average of 40.5 births per 1,000 females in the same age group. However, in 2006, both the U.S. and Virginia experienced a slight uptick in birth rates to 41.9 and 35.2 births per 1,000 females. Based on this 2006 rate, Virginia had the 19th lowest incidence of teen births among the 50 states. Relative to its peers, Virginia had a lower rate per 1,000 females than North Carolina (49.7) or Tennessee (54.7), but a higher rate than Maryland (33.6). New Hampshire led the nation with only 18.7 teen births.

Rate of Teen Pregnancy by State. See text for explanation.According to the Guttmacher Institute, Virginia's teen pregnancy rate was also among the mid-range of states in 2000:  the 19th lowest rate in the nation at 72 pregnancies per 1,000 females aged 15-19. The national average in 2000 was 84 per 1,000 female teens.  North Carolina's rate was 95, Tennessee's rate was 89, and Maryland's rate was 91. The leading state was North Dakota, with a teen pregnancy rate of just 42.

Teen Pregnancy Rate by Virginia Region. See text for explanation.Within Virginia, teen pregnancy has generally been decreasing, with every region except the Southwest having a lower rate in 2007 than it did in 2000. Recent years, however, have shown some erosion in that progress.

2007 regional data from the Virginia Department of Health shows that the Eastern (68.7) and Hampton Roads (64.1) regions had the highest teen pregnancy rates per 1,000 females between the ages of 15 and 19, while the Northern (38.1) and Valley (45.5) regions had the lowest rates. In 2007 there were 13,766 pregnancies reported among teenagers in Virginia overall, or 51.5 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19.

What Influences Teen Pregnancy?

Several factors influence teen pregnancy rates. Young women may be at higher risk for teen pregnancy if they:

  • Use alcohol and/or other drugs, including tobacco products
  • Drop out of school
  • Lack a support group or have few friends
  • Lack involvement in school, family, or community activities
  • Perceive little or no opportunity for success
  • Live in a community or attend a school where early childbearing is common and viewed as the norm rather than as a cause for concern
  • Grow up under impoverished conditions
  • Have been victims of sexual abuse or assault
  • Have a mother who was aged 19 or younger when she first gave birth
  • Begin dating early. Dating at age 12 is associated with a 91 percent chance of being sexually involved before age 19, and dating at age 13 is associated with a 56 percent probability of sexual involvement during adolescence.

Adolescents become sexually mature (and fertile) approximately four to five years before they reach emotional maturity. Adolescents today are growing up in a culture in which peers, TV and motion pictures, music, and magazines often transmit either covert or overt messages indicating that unmarried sexual relationships (specifically those involving teenagers) are common, accepted, and at times expected behaviors.

What is the State's Role?

Virginia works to deliver access to and availability of:

  • Family-planning services
  • Children's access to primary care providers
  • Mental health/chemical dependency providers
  • Adolescent well-care visits
  • Pediatric mental health services
  • Chemical dependency services
  • Check-ups after delivery.

Virginia's efforts are based on the core idea that preventing teen pregnancy should be approached not only as a reproductive health issue, but one that incorporates all of the social ramifications involved. If more children in Virginia were born to parents who are ready and able to care for them, we would see a significant reduction in a host of social problems, from school failure and crime to child abuse and neglect.

Page last modified September 01, 2009
Teen Pregnancy Birth Rates by State. Teen Pregnancy Rate by State. Teen Pregnancy Rate by Virginia Region.

Data and Definitions

State-level Data: Centers for Diseaase Control and Prevention, National Vital Statistics Reports:  www.cdc.gov/nchs/datawh/vitalstats/VitalStatsbirths.htm
(updated annually in January)

Guttmacher Institute www.guttmacher.org/pubs/2006/09/12/USTPstats.pdf

Virginia Pregnancy Rate: Virginia Department of Health (VDH), Center for Health Statistics
www.vdh.virginia.gov/HealthStats/index.asp  (updated annually in October)
www.vahealth.org/teenpregnancyprevention/

See the Data Sources and Updates Calendar for a detailed list of the data resources used for indicator measures on Virginia Performs.

At a Glance:
Teen Pregnancy in Virginia

Performance Trend: Trend is improving.
State Influence:  
limited

National Ranking:  Virginia ranked 19th nationally in teenage birth rate (2006).

Virginia by region:  The teen pregnancy rate has been generally decreasing throughout Virginia since 1995, and although progress has slowed in recent years, that trend is expected to continue.

Related Agency Measures
State Programs & Initiatives

The Virginia Department of Health has developed a Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Initiative site, where users can access all the VDH services relating to teen pregnancy, download helpful publications, get the latest facts and figures, and more.

The Resource Mothers program provides community outreach support for teen mothers, encouraging them to complete their education and generally make healthier choices, with a goal of preventing a second unplanned pregnancy.

Girls Empowered to Make Success (GEMS) works with the siblings of teen mothers to help them avoid an unplanned pregnancy.

Family planning services are provided in all local health departments across the state, and serve women of all ages.

Additional Information

Teenage pregnancy prevention programs are available in seven health districts (Alexandria, Crater, Eastern Shore, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Richmond and Roanoke) whose teenage pregnancy rates significantly exceed the state average.