Teen Births in DuPage County, Illinois

State and National Statistics
 
The birth rate for U.S. teenagers in 2000 was 48.5 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19 years. This rate is the lowest level ever reported for the Nation. Teen births to women aged 15 to 19 represents 78.7 percent of all teen births. The birth rate for Illinois teenagers in 2000 was 49.5 births per 1000 women for ages 15 to 19 years. This rate is the lowest level ever reported for the State. Since 1991 the teenage birth rate is down 22 percent and the number of births to teenagers in 2000 is the fewest since 1987. Figure 1 graphically presents the steady decline in U.S. and Illinois teen birth rates from 1990 to 2000.

Figure 1.

The birth rate for teens aged 15 to 17 also declined significantly. For Illinois teens aged 15 to 17 the rate dropped from 40.1 births per 1,000 to 29.5 per 1,000 between 1990 and 1999. For the Nation this rate fell from 37.5 per 1,000 to 28.7 per 1,000. ⁴

Most teenage births are to unmarried women. In 1990, 67.1 percent of all teenage births were to unmarried women ages 15 to 19. In 2000 the percent rose to 78.7 percent. A steady decline in first births (teenage mothers giving birth for the first time) has been reflected in National statistics. The majority of all births to teenagers (78 percent) are first births. ⁵

Hispanics and blacks have much higher teen birth rates. In 1999, the teen birth rate for Illinois Hispanics aged 15 to 19 was 102.2 per 1,000. For U.S. Hispanics the rate was 93.4 per 1,000. In 1999, the teen birth rate for Illinois Blacks aged 15 to 19 was 105.2 per 1,000. For U.S. Blacks the rate was 81.0 per 1,000. ⁶
 

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¹ Darroch JE, Singh S, and Frost JF, Differences in Teenage Pregnancy Rates Among Five Developed Countries: The Roles of Sexual Activity and Contraceptive Use, Family Planning Perspectives, 2001, 33(6):244-250 & 281

² Ventura, SJ, Mathews, TJ, and Curtin, SC. Declines in Teenage Birth Rates, 1991-98: Update of National and State Trends. National Vital Statistics Report 47(26), 1999.

³ Ventura, SJ, Mathews, TJ, and Hamilton, BE. Births to Teenagers in the United States, 1940-2000. National Vital Statistics Report 49(10) 2001.

⁴ Ventura, SJ, Mathews, TJ, and Hamilton, BE. Teenage Births in the United States: State Trends, 1991-2000, an Update. National Vital Statistics Report 50(19) 2002.

⁵ Ventura, SJ, Mathews, TJ, and Hamilton, BE. Births to Teenagers in the United States, 1940-2000. National Vital Statistics Report 49(10) 2001.

⁶ Ventura, SJ, Mathews, TJ, and Hamilton, BE. Births to Teenagers in the United States, 1940-2000. National Vital Statistics Report 49(10) 2001.

⁷ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy People HP2010. 2nd ed. With Understanding and Improving Health and Objectives for Improving Health. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, November 2000. 2(9).

⁸ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy People HP2010. 2nd ed. With Understanding and Improving Health and Objectives for Improving Health. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, November 2000. 2(9).

⁹ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy People HP2010. 2nd ed. With Understanding and Improving Health and Objectives for Improving Health. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, November 2000. 2(9)

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