Birthrate keeps falling among teenagers in Utah

The birthrate among Utah teenagers has gradually declined since 1991, when it peaked at 49.1 per 1,000 for young women ages 15 to 19.

In fact, the teen birthrate statewide in 1995 - the latest data available - compares to that of 12 years ago, said Lynda Ion, director of community services for Planned Parenthood Association of Utah.The 1995 statewide birthrate for teens age 15 to 19 was 44.1 live births per 1,000, or 4,219 births, the Utah Department of Health reported.

A decade ago, the rate was 45.6.

Utah's birthrate for teens mirrors a national trend. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has reported a 12 percent decrease in the teen birthrate between 1991 and 1996 - down from 62.1 births per 1,000 teens to 54.7.

Like the CDC, Planned Parenthood of Utah contends the decrease is due, at least in part, to educational and family planning programs.

"We have no hard evidence of that (in Utah)," Ion said. "But teens are either not having sex, or they're having sex and doing better planning . . . We would love to think it is partially due to the education, community outreach and services that Planned Parenthood provides."

The agency believes its services to Utah teens have kept pace with substantial growth in that population. While the state experienced a 28 percent increase in the number of 15- to 19-year-old females from 1987 to 1995, Planned Parenthood services to the population increased 28 percent as well, Ion said.

Pregnancies for that age group increased 11 percent during the same period.

However, the number of teen births differs from the rate, which calculates how many young women have babies for every 1,000 females in that age range. That can make rates somewhat misleading in areas with small populations, said Robert Rolfs, director of the health department's Office of Public Health Data.

For example, in the Wasatch County health district, the teen birthrate dropped from 69.82 in 1991 to 41.32 in 1995. In terms of actual births, though, the difference was only six babies: 31 in 1991, and 25 in 1995.