Anchorage Daily News

Alaska saw the nation's biggest increase in teenage pregnancy rate from 2005 to 2006, according to a new federal report looking at U.S. birth rates.

The Alaska birthrate among women ages 15-19 in 2006 was 44.3 per 1,000 teens, up 19 percent from 2005. The next highest growth occurred in Mississippi and Montana, both of which saw a 13 percent increase in 2006. The national average was 41.9 births for every 1,000 teenage girls 15 or older, up 3 percent.

Although the Alaska teen birth rate growth was the highest in 2006, the rate generally has been falling since 1991.

The new report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the Alaska teen birth rate fell from 66 per 1,000 to 37.3 from 1991 through 2005. That was a 43 percent decrease that was the sixth highest improvement in the nation.

Mississippi now has the nation's highest teen birth rate, displacing Texas and New Mexico for that lamentable title, the report says.

Mississippi's rate was more than 60 percent higher than the national average in 2006, according to new state statistics. The teen birth rate for that year in Texas and New Mexico was more than 50 percent higher.

The three states have large proportions of black and Hispanic teenagers -- groups that traditionally have higher birth rates, experts noted.

TEEN BIRTHS UP EVERYWHERE

More than a year ago, a preliminary report on the 2006 data revealed that the U.S. teen birth rate had risen for the first time in about 15 years. But the new numbers provide the first state-by-state breakdown.

The new report is based on a review of all the birth certificates in 2006. Significant increases in teen birth rates were noted in 26 states.

"It's pretty much across the board" nationally, said Brady Hamilton, a CDC statistician who worked on the report.

About 435,000 of the nation's 4.3 million births in 2006 were to mothers ages 15 through 19. That was about 21,000 more teen births than in 2005.

Some experts have blamed the national increase on increased federal funding for abstinence-only health education that does not teach teens how to use condoms and other contraception.

There is debate about that, however. Some conservative organizations have argued that contraceptive-focused sex education is still common, and that the new teen birth numbers reflect it is failing.

OTHER FACTS ABOUT ALASKA

Other factors include the escalating cost of some types of birth control and their unavailability in some communities, said Stephanie Birch, who directs maternal and child health programs for the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services.

Other Alaska statistics about 2006 from the 102-page report include:

• The birth rate for Alaska females aged 15-17 was 19.2 per 1,000. The rate for those ages 18 and 19 was 92.7 per 1,000. The comparable national averages were 22 and 73.

• The average age of a Alaskan mother giving birth to her first child was 24.3 years in 2006. That compares with a U.S. average of 25 years old.

• The state had 10,996 births in 2006. Only North Dakota, Wyoming and Vermont mothers gave birth to fewer babies. In 4,047 of the births the mother was not married.

• 81.1 percent of Alaskan mothers began their prenatal care during the first trimester of their pregnancy, compared with 83 percent nationally.

• 23 percent of Alaska births were by cesarean delivery, with only Idaho and Utah having a lower cesarean rate. The U.S. average was 31 percent.

• 6 percent of Alaska babies had a low birth weight, the smallest percentage in the country. Low birth weight is considered less than 5 pounds 8 ounces.

ADVERTISEMENT