North Carolina Teen Mothers ’ Maternal Health 2005–2009 N.C. Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (N.C. PRAMS)

Abstract

This fact sheet focuses on teen births, behaviors and risk factors in North Carolina and compares them with mothers over the age of 20. Teen birth data in this report includes women ages 13 through 19 who delivered a live born infant from 2005–2009. First, we present live birth data in order to provide a comprehensive summary of teen births in the state. In the remainder of the report, we examine North Carolina Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (N.C. PRAMS) survey data for teen mothers. Teenage birth rates have declined substantially over the last decade throughout the United States and in North Carolina. 1 As shown in Figure 1, in 2009, North Carolina’s teenage (ages 13 to 19) birth rate was 32.3 births per 1,000 females. This figure was approximately 25 percent lower than the 2000 rate of 43 teen births per 1,000 females age 13 to 19. 2 Characteristics of Teenage Births in North Carolina During the period 2005–2009, a total of 74,005 babies were born to mothers ages 19 and younger; representing 11.6 percent of all North Carolina resident live births. The majority of teenage births were to older teens ages 18 and 19 (67.7%). Of the North Carolina teenagers who gave birth to a live baby, 41.3 percent were non-Hispanic white, 36.6 percent were non-Hispanic black, 3.6 percent were Non-Hispanic other races and 18.5 percent were Hispanic/Latina (Figure 2). In comparison, as shown in Figure 3, a greater proportion of births to mothers ages 20 and over were non-Hispanic white (57.6%), with fewer being non-Hispanic black (21.7%) and Hispanic/Latina (16.1%).