Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

State’s teen pregnancy rate still high but dropping substantially

Nevada has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the country, but it has dropped “substantially” over the past several years, according to a national report released this month.

The Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit reproductive health organization, has periodically released reports examining the trends of teenage pregnancy, birth and abortion in the United States, going back to 1988.

Rates of pregnancy, birth and abortion among those ages 15 to 19 have declined dramatically since their peak in the early 1990s, reaching historic lows in 2010, according to the institute’s most recent study.

However, Nevada still has among the highest teenage pregnancy, birth and abortion rates in the country, the report said.

Here are the report’s major findings:

Teenage pregnancy rate:

Nevada has the seventh-highest teenage pregnancy rate nationally. However, the rate has dropped from a high of 142 pregnancies per 1,000 women in 1988 to 68 pregnancies per 1,000 women in 2010.

There were 6,020 teens who were pregnant in 2010. Guttmacher did not have specific breakdowns by ethnicity.

Teenage birth rate

Nevada has the 16th-highest teenage birth rate nationally. However, the rate has dropped from a high of 65 births per 1,000 women in 1988 to 39 births per 1,000 women in 2010.

There were 3,421 teens who gave birth in 2010. Birth rates were higher among black and Hispanic women than among white women.

Teenage abortion rate

Nevada has the seventh-highest teenage abortion rate in the country. However, the rate has dropped from a high of 59 abortions per 1,000 women in 1988 to 20 abortions per 1,000 women in 2010.

There were 1,740 teens who had abortions in 2010; 860 suffered miscarriages. Guttmacher did not have specific breakdowns by ethnicity.

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