Not only does New Hampshire remain to have the least percentage of teen births in the country, State health officials have also noted a significant drop in the rate of teen pregnancies between the years 1991 and 2012. In 1991 statistics showed how there were 33.1 in 1,000 teenage girls that got pregnant between the ages of 15 and 19. Several years later, in 2012, this figure will decrease remarkably to only 13.8 in 1,000, reflecting a 58% reduction in the cases of teen pregnancies.
Maternal and Child Health section representative, Rhonda Siegel, from the State division of Public health services said that they are pleased to see a direct correlation between the decreasing rate of teen pregnancies and the efforts that are being put into the programs that are being implemented to prevent them. The state is pushing for better access to reproductive health care, educating teens about the consequences of early parenthood and the difficult economic climate that comes with raising children. Siegel says that, "maybe all those things are interacting to make teens say it's just not worth it. " Researchers form the Division of Vital Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also agree that the drop in the numbers of teen births may be accredited to the abstinence programs that are being pushed nationwide. Additionally, teens today are also given more access to contraception, with more teens using LARCs or long acting reversible contraceptives. These products include hormonal implants and intrauterine devices that help prevent unwanted and unplanned pregnancies. The Agency also confirmed that these figures are not the result of abortion.
According to statistics, older teens, or does between the ages of 18 and 19, account for most teen births and is said to be at 23.6 out of 1000. Even so, the CDC report also reflected a 37% drop in the rate of pregnancies within this age group.
