Colorado ranks among the top seven states experiencing declining teen birth rates in recent years, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While teen birth rates declined nationally by 25 percent from 2007-2011, Colorado’s rate declined by more than 30 percent. The other six states to achieve similar drops are Idaho, Nevado, Utah, Arizona, Minnesota and Florida.
Colorado’s birth rate among Hispanic teens also declined by more than 40 percent from 2007-2011. Nationally, there was a 34 percent decline for that group.
Colorado Youth Matter, an advocacy group promoting teen sexual health, suggested in a press release that the declines may be due to “enormous statewide efforts and funding to increase prevention efforts.”
“This data highlights how critical it is that current efforts and funding continue — because there is still more work to be done,” said Executive Director Lisa Olcese in the release.
According to the CDC fact sheet on the teen birth data, babies born to teens are at greater risk of premature birth, low birth weight and dying in infancy than babies born to mothers ages 20 and over.