Teenage birth rate in Alabama continues to decline

The number of births among teenage girls in Alabama declined in 2005 from the previous year, continuing a downward trend in the teen pregnancy rate over the last 10 years, according to a new report from the Alabama Department of Public Health's Center for Health Statistics, the Birmingham News reports.

According CHS, 7,903 infants were born to teenage girls in 2005, down from 8,259 in 2004 and 11,333 in 1994. The agency found that 28 infants were born to girls ages 13 and younger; 485 infants were born to girls ages 14 and 15; and 722 abortions were obtained by girls ages 18 and under, a decline from 807 in 2004.

Don Bogie, a sociologist with Auburn University's Center for Demographic Research, said the decline is the result of an increase in direct dialogue between adults and teenagers about sex .

"It is certainly something that is discussed more openly than it was 30 to 40 years ago," he said, adding, "It is approached more frankly.

And the fears of HIV and other [sexually transmitted infections] may have something to do with it in a general sense." He also said the state's declining high school dropout rate might be a reason for a reduction in teenage births.

"I think there is a close association there. Staying in school would have a positive impact," Bogie said.

Alabama public schools for the last nine years have participated in a federally funded abstinence education program that focuses on youth development and classroom educational activities, Tom Miller, assistant state health officer for ADPH, said, adding that the program often is incorporated into "a bigger approach," that involves local community groups, such as the Boys and Girls Club and the YMCA, the News reports (Osburn, Birmingham News, 10/2).