A report from the latest issue of National Vital Statistics Reports (Volume 58, Number 4, October 14, 2009) shows that pregnancy rates are dropping. The data also indicates a significant drop in abortion rates, which leads me to believe that pregnancy prevention is on the rise. Whether this is a result of increased abstinence among teens or birth control is under debate. The pregnancy rate for young teens dropped by 48%. The total pregnancy rate has dropped by 11 percent. These numbers do not include the recent rise in teen pregnancy since 2006.
So why are people having fewer babies? After sifting through tons of statistics and articles, I have yet to find an answer. Are we seeing the result of education in our schools about pregnancy prevention? In this “internet age,” are we simply more informed? How are people’s attitudes towards having children affected by the economy? (Teen pregnancy rates dropped with the booming economy, only to rise along with the fall. Is this a coincidence?) Are there less pregnancies because women are waiting longer to have children and facing infertility as a result?
Considering the percentages, my guess is that the drop in teen pregnancy (prior to 2006) makes up for a good portion of the overall decrease in pregnancies in the US. 48% is quite a drop. A combination of abstinence education and increased exposure to birth control methods have likely made a huge impact on preventing unwanted pregnancies among both teens and women. There are more variations of the pill and other convenient forms of birth control that make pregnancy prevention easier, which also may have something to do with the drop. I also think delaying pregnancy has something to do with the numbers drop. More and more women are putting off children for their careers in light of advanced technology in fertility treatments for women of “advanced maternal age.” When these treatments don’t work, women that would have had children at a younger age end up not conceiving at all.
Why do you think pregnancy rates have dropped so much?