Though small, it's the first increase in teen pregnancy rates since they began dropping from its all-time high of 39 births per 1,000 teens in 1991 (thereafter declining steadily).
Considering the rebounding teen pregnancy trend, Edward Sondik, director of the National Center for Health Statistics said, “This is one of the key indicators for the health of the teen population. Not only does this affect teen health at this point, but their health and well-being for the next 20 to 40 years, and the health and well-being of their children.”
Also increasing are the low-birth-weight deliveries in the U.S. the percentage of babies weighing below 5 pounds 8 ounces at birth rose to 8.3 percent in 2006 from 8.2 percent the year before. These infants are at higher risk for developmental delays and other health problems.
Though unsure about what is driving the rise in low-birth-weight deliveries, researchers suspect later childbearing by U.S. couples and increase in multiple births often related to fertility treatments are the key points.
“This trend reflects an increase in the number of infants born prematurely, the largest category of low-birth-weight infants,” Duane Alexander, head of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, emphasized.
However surprisingly, while teen pregnancy rates are rising, the percentage of teens (aging between 15 and 17 years) indulging in sexual acts has reportedly remained stable at 46 percent, the government report reveals.
On the positive side, fewer eighth graders were now taking smoking now than they did a year ago, especially credited to increased education, widespread smoking bans and legislative increases in cigarette taxes.
Though no change in stats among 10th and 12th graders taking to smoking was reported during 2006 and 2007, the rates of smoking cigarettes dropped from 4 percent in 2006 to 3 percent in 2007 for the eighth graders. The figures for the group peaked at 10 percent in 1996.
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