Birthrate high among teen Latinas in Utah

While teenage Latinas have three times as many babies as their non-Hispanic counterparts nationwide, Utah's birthrate among young Hispanic women is almost four times the statewide average.

A study released Wednesday by the Utah Department of Health shows that 6.6 percent of local Latinas ages 15-17 give birth, compared with just 1.8 percent of the general population in that age group.

April Bennett, of the department's Center for Multicultural Health, said national statistics on Latina teen births cover young women ages 15 to 19, while this report looks only at 15- to 17-year-olds. The reason, Bennett said, is that 18- and 19-year-olds are legal adults.

There is no research data that accounts for the wide disparity, but anecdotal evidence suggests that poor family relationships, lack of parental involvement and low academic achievement may be among the reasons, according to Jennifer Mayfield, adolescent health coordinator with health department.

"We see much the same thing nationally, and we can't pinpoint one specific reason," Mayfield said.

Cultural norms, peer pressure, media and non-voluntary sexual experiences including rape and incest may also play a part, she said. But without actual data, "at this point, it's educated guesses," Mayfield said.

Some inside the Hispanic community say there is a generational and cultural gap between parents and children, she said.

"Many times when they move here, the kids are immediately in school and inundated with American culture, while it takes the parents take longer (to adapt)," Mayfield said. "In that situation, kids could say they are going to a school function at night, and there really isn't one. Their parents wouldn't know otherwise."

The most recent health department statistics tracking the demographics of teenage births show the Rose Park area with the highest rate in the state, followed by Glendale, South Salt Lake, downtown Ogden, West Valley east, Midvale and Magna. The lowest rates were reported in Provo/BYU, Foothill/University of Utah, southeast Sandy, Farmington/Centerville, northeast Sandy and Cottonwood.

There is no state funding to address the issue, Mayfield said. "The only funding we have is federal abstinence money, so we have to look for grants" to help fund programs specifically targeted to Latinas.

Last year, a Spanish-language pilot study for parents called "Parents Matter" began targeting parents with children ages 9-13, teaching them the skills to talk about sexually transmitted disease and teen pregnancy with their children.