http://abcnews.go.com/story?id=6588896
Although 18-year-old Bristol Palin has made headlines in recent months for her pregnancy and the birth of her son, Tripp, she has a lot of company — in her state and in the rest of the nation.
According to the newest numbers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, teen births increased by 3 percent nationally in 2006, reversing a 15-year decline of more than a third. And Palin’s home state of Alaska — one of 26 states to see a rise — led the way, with a 19 percent increase in the teenage birthrate from the previous year.
“It’s concerning because there was so much effort made to encourage teenagers to avoid pregnancy starting in the early 1990s,” said Stephanie Ventura, an author of the study and director for natality statistics and the National Center for Health Statistics.
The numbers showed a 3 percent increase in births among women of all ages — an increase in every age group — as well as the first decline in the average age of mothers giving birth (from 25.2 to 25) for the first time since the CDC began tracking it.
The reversal of the trend in teen births is what most concerns experts.