Births to Adolescents

Definition:
The number of births to adolescent females ages 15 through 19, per 1,000 age-specific population.

Data Source: MD DHMH, Vital Statistics Administration Annual Report 2014.
USCDC, National Vital Statistics Reports, “Births: Final Data for 2014”

Story Behind the Data:

Maryland’s teen birth rate has declined by 53% since 2001, and in 2014, the birth rate to adolescents ages 15 to 19 fell to 17.8 per 1,000 population.  Maryland’s adolescent birth rate has been consistently lower than the national rate for more than ten years, with both rates showing a significant decline.

Maryland’s teen pregnancy prevention efforts focus on clinical and educational programming.  Adolescents are served in family-planning clinics and school-based health centers statewide.  Services include family planning and reproductive health services and counseling.  The State Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) and abstinence education programs provide curriculum-based programs in school, after school, and in community settings for adolescents and their parents/caregivers.  The target population for educational programs ranges from age 10 through the early 20s.

More information about Maryland’s efforts to reduce teen pregnancy can be found on the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program website, with additional information about the federal PREP program available from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.