A new study indicates that teen pregnancy has dropped significantly for Latinas living in the U.S., a group of young women who have had the highest rates of pregnancy in the past decade. Some experts say increased access to contraception and healthcare may have played a role in the shift.
The study, conducted by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and released last week, showed that teen pregnancy rates are down more than 30-percent in the Latino community. Young Latinas in their twenties are postponing pregnancy longer than they had in years past, the study says. In addition, the study concludes that the number of women having children in their late thirties and early forties has increased by 65 percent in just two decades.
CNN reported in 2009 that 53 percent of Latinas got pregnant in their teens -- about twice the national average. And in 2007, CDC studies indicated that the birth rate among non-Hispanic whites ages 15 to 19 was 27.2 per 1,000, but 81.7 per 1,000 for Latinas in the same age group. But now, teen pregnancy rates have hit their lowest point since 1976, according to the latest study from the agency. READ MORE
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