Kristi Tanner

Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

Teen birth rates continue to drop to historic lows in Michigan and across the country, according to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report released last week. Nationwide, the birth rate for teens 15-19 was 22.3 per 1,000 females in 2015, the most recent data available. Michigan's birth rate was below the national rate, at 19.4 births per 1,000 teens. A decrease in sexual activity, an increase in contraceptive use and an uptick in programs aimed at preventing teen pregnancy contributed to the drop in birth rates among U.S. teens, the CDC reports.

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Fertility rates have declined among U.S. teens regardless of race, yet disparities persist. Hispanic teens had the highest birth rate, at 34.9 births per 1,000 females, followed by African-American teens at 31.8 births per 1,000 females and American Indian or Alaska native teens, at 25.7 births per 1,000 females. Asian or Pacific Islander teens and white teens had the lowest birth rates, at 6.9 and 16 births per 1,000 females, respectively.

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Despite a decrease in the teen birth rate, the U.S. rate remains high compared with that of other developed countries. Canada's fertility rate was 9 births per 1,000 teenagers in 2015, while the United Kingdom's teen birth rate was 14, according to statistics from the World Bank.

In the U.S. the teen birth rate ranged from a low of 9.4 births per 1,000 teens in Massachusetts to a high of 38 births per 1,000 teens in Arkansas, according to CDC data. In Michigan, among counties with at least six live births, the teen birth rate ranged from 6 births per 1,000 females in Livingston County to 48 births per 1,000 females in Iosco County, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.