Texas Teen Birth Rate Drops, But it’s Still High

Nationwide, the teen birth rate has declined to its lowest level since 1946, but while the national average decline was just 9 percent from 2009 to 2010, Texas has shown even greater improvement.  But we still don't have any reason to celebrate.

The birth rate among Texas teenagers between 15 and 19 years old fell from 61.7 per 1,000 in 2007, to 52.2 per 1,000 in 2010, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control.

Despite this improvement, Texas is still in the top five states for teen pregnancy. Mississippi ranks No. 1 at 55 per 1,000, followed by New Mexico (52.9), Arkansas (52.5), Texas (52.2) and Oklahoma (50.4).

For whatever it's worth, the CDC report says states with low teen birth rates, such as California, teach sex education that emphasizes condom use, birth control and STD prevention. States with high teen birth rates, such as Texas, teach sex education that emphasizes abstinence over birth control measures.

via The teen birth rate in Texas has decreased significantly | Mom Houston | a Chron.com blog.

Here's a link to the full CDC report:

via Products - Data Briefs - Number 89 - April 2012.