Teen mothers' birth rates lower than pregnancy rates: The Courier-Times

The number of local teens getting pregnant and delivering live babies increased from 2012-13, according to state reports. But new data from 2014 could indicate a change in that trend.

Indiana recently released part of the Indiana Natality Report for 2014, the most recent year for which information is available. Data about teen pregnancies from that year is not complete.

At New Castle High School, director of counseling services Karen Bimber has noticed a decrease in the number of teen pregnancies.

“We have not had as many students who have gotten into that situation,” Bimber said.

The report shows the teen birth rate and teen pregnancy rate for Henry County increased from 2012 to 2013. The teen birth rate is defined as the number of live births per 1,000 girls age 15 to 19. The teen pregnancy rate is defined as the number of pregnancies per 1,000 girls age 15 to 19 and includes births and fetal losses.

Janet Modjeski, executive director of the Henry County Pregnancy Care Center, said she has noticed fewer teenage mothers visiting the pregnancy care center in the last year, and that the ones they do see usually end up giving birth.

She noted that the center doesn’t always know the outcomes of teen pregnancies due to some girls not coming back for follow up.

Modjeski said she sees a lot more teenage mothers using drugs than older mothers. In those cases, she recommends that girls see a doctor right away for pre-natal care if they test positive for pregnancy.

“You don’t have to be a doctor to know that you shouldn’t do drugs or smoke during pregnancy,” she said. “We refer them to a doctor right away.”

According to Indiana’s Infant Mortality Report, released in Dec. 2014, young maternal age – girls younger than 18 – is one of the leading causes of “adverse birth outcomes,” like low birth weight, premature birth and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The study also reported that the fewer number of pre-natal doctor visits a mother has, the more likely the pregnancy is to result in these outcomes.

Henry County ranked 43rd in the state for rates of live births to teenage mothers age in 2013, up from 78th in 2012. The total reported number of live births rose from 38 in 2012 to 50 in 2013, an increase of nearly 32 percentage points.

Henry County ranked 27th in the state for teen pregnancy rates in mothers age 15 to 19 for 2013, up significantly from 75th in 2012. From 2012 to 2013, the number of reported teen pregnancies increased from 43 to 61, a difference of about 42 percentage points.

But there is a chance this trend could change depending on the results of the 2014 data.

Records of live birth rates to teenage mothers in Henry County age 15 to 19 from 2013 to 2014 indicated a decrease of nearly 13 percentage points.

Reported live births decreased from 50 in 2013 to 43 in 2014. There were no births recorded in the under-15 age group, which is a trend that spans six years.

At New Castle High School, teens are given the option to participate in a parenting class offered at CRADLES, a local non-profit daycare facility that offers affordable services for high school students. Teen parents have the option of enrolling their babies at the daycare while they complete their high school educations.

“We involve a parent or a guardian because many times they are going to make the decision anyway because the girls tend to be young,” Bimber said.

More information

The Henry County Pregnancy Care Center, 415 S. Main St., is open 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, except holidays. For more information about services provided, call 765-529-7298.

To view the Indiana Infant Mortality Report for 2014, go to www.in.gov/isdh/reports/mortality/2014/toc.htm.

*This was the most difficult story I wrote for The Courier-Times because it involved so many numbers. I spent about a month and a half just sorting through the data and making calculations using a spreadsheet. My editor helped me with the contacts in this story, and Kayla Folino, with the paginators The Courier-Times uses, created a graph using the data I supplied.