Virginia teen birth rate stabilizes

-- Births to 18 and 19-year-olds and to Hispanic teens are driving teen birth rates in Virginia, a state official said today.

Virginia's teen birth rate in 2006 was 35.2 births for 1,000 females ages 15 to 19, up slightly from 34.4 in 2005, according to new numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Preliminary state data for 2007 suggests the rate dipped slightly to 35.

Virginia's 2006 rate was lower than the national average of 41.9 births per 1,000 females 15-19.

"We are ranked about 19 out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia," said Joanne Boise, division director for child and adolescent health at the Virginia Department of Health. The state ranking first, New Hampshire, had the lowest rate, at 18.7 births per 1,000 females ages 15 to 19.

The CDC numbers show teen birth rates increased significantly in more than half of the states in 2006. Mississippi had the highest teen birth rate, at 68.4 births.

"Our rates seem to be plateauing, possibly increasing, but we know the big increase in the birth rate is with the Hispanic population and the older teens," Boise said of Virginia. However, she added, "Over 10 years, the rate is a downward trend."

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The CDC reported in December 2007 that the teen birth rate overall increased for the first time in more than a decade in 2006. The only states showing a decrease in teen birth rates from 2005 to 2006 were North Dakota, Rhode Island and New York.

"What worries me . . . is the situations that those children are being born into, and are they being appropriately cared for and who's caring for them?" Boise said.

The CDC report notes that babies born to teen mothers are at greater risk of low birth weight, preterm birth and dying in infancy.

Teen birth rates vary by race. Nationally, Hispanic teens had 83 births per 1,000 females ages 15-19 in 2006. The rates for whites and blacks were 26.6 and 63.7, respectively.

In Virginia in 2007, the Hispanic teen birth rate was 90.6 for females 15-19; the rate for blacks was 53.1 and the non-Hispanic white rate was 23.7. State figures show that the Hispanic teen birth rate has increased since 2000, while the rate has dropped for whites and blacks.

In terms of actual birth numbers, whites, who make up a larger share of the state's population, had more teen births -- 3,969 -- in 2007. Black teens in 2007 had 3,519 births, while Hispanic teens had 1,506 births.

Public health officials can't pinpoint why the rates are going up nationally. Some say the emphasis in recent years on promoting abstinence rather than comprehensive sex education that includes information on condoms and birth control is partly to blame. Others cite media attention to pregnant celebrities, particularly teen celebrities, and sexual messages in music and on TV.

"All the sex on television is having a direct impact on young people's sexual behavior," said Gale Grant, adolescent health program coordinator for the Richmond City Health District. The city, which has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the state, about a year ago announced a comprehensive effort to reduce teen births and teen pregnancies.

"This a community issue. It's not just an individual or not just the girl or the mother and father of the baby," Grant said. "It impacts their families, their neighborhoods, and it impacts the city."

Grant said an executive committee and a community advisory board have been formed, and a youth panel also will be brought together.

"If we can lower the rate in Richmond, that's going to impact the state rate," Grant said.Contact Tammie Smith at (804) 649-6572 or .