The pregnancy rate for girls ages 15 to 19 in Minnesota declined 5 percent in 1998, to 43.

Monday, June 19, 2000

The pregnancy rate for girls ages 15 to 19 in Minnesota declined 5 percent in 1998, to 43.8 pregnancies per 1,000 women.

And, the birth rate for teens ages 15 to 19 dropped 3 percent over 1997 rates to 31 births per 1,000 teen girls.

The figures represent the latest in a 10-year trend in declining teen pregnancy and birth rates in Minnesota, according to the Minnesota Department of Health’s Center for Health Statistics.

The teen pregnancy rates in Minnesota has decreased by 26 percent since its peak in 1990 and the teen birth rate declined 15 percent during that same period.

The trend in Minnesota reflects the national trend in decreasing teen pregnancy and birth rates.

That’s the good news.

Here’s the bad news.

The absolute numbers of pregnancies and babies born to teen-agers is increasing as the total teen population increased.

In 1998, 7,892 teen-age girls became pregnancy and 5,597 gave birth – 300 more pregnancies and 267 more births than five years previously in 1994.

If the lower teen pregnancy and birth rates show that more and more of our teen-agers are taking control of their lives, what do the increasing numbers of teen pregnancies and births show?

One obvious answer is that society needs to make sure its teen-agers are empowered to make responsible decisions and that babies are born to adult parents who are ready to care for them.

Children having children is an option that should not be considered.