US Birth Rate: All-Time Low In Teens Nationwide

By: Susan Harris
Staff Writer
Published: Dec 22, 2021

US Birth Rate: All-time low in teens nationwide. The US teen birth rate in 2009 fell to an all-time low in almost 70 years of record-keeping. The statistics have stunned experts who believe it's partly due to the recession.

The birth rate for teenagers fell to 39 births per 1,000 girls, ages 15 through 19, according to a government report. It was a 6 percent decline from the previous year, and the lowest since health officials started tracking the rate in 1940. Most experts agree that the recent recession was a major factor.

"I'm not suggesting that teens are examining futures of 401(k)s or how the market is doing," Sarah Brown, chief executive of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, said in a statement. "But I think they are living in families that experience that stress. They are living next door to families that lost their jobs. The recession has touched us all," Brown said.

Teenage moms, who account for about 10 percent of the nation's births, are not unique. The total number of births also dropped, as have rates among all women except those 40 and older. Overall, about 4.1 million babies were born in 2009, down almost 3 percent from 2008.