After long decline, U.S. teen birth rates rise again

By Katherine Tandler | McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — U.S. teen birth rates rose sharply in 2006, according to figures released Wednesday by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ending a welcome 14-year decline.

While U.S. teen birth rates remained the highest in the industrialized world, the long decline had amounted to a 45 percent reduction since 1991.

According to the figures for 2006, the latest year for which data are available, birth rates for teens aged 15-19 rose by 3.5 percent. This increase marks the largest growth in teen birth rates since 1989-1990.