A new report has turned up the disturbing results that one in five adolescent mothers surveyed already had other children. The study, conducted by the CDC, also shows that only 22 percent of new mothers used effective birth control.
Other facts that came out of the CDC's report include black and Hispanic teens being twice as likely to be repeat mothers than others and that of the 365,000 teens who had children in 2010, 67,000 of those were repeat births.
As relayed by the Daily Mail, the "Vital Signs" report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention distinguishes "teens" as those persons between the ages of 15 and 19, and that these numbers mean that 18 percent of teen mothers in 2010 already had at least one other child.
"The CDC states that the explanation for these statistics is complex, saying that the numbers vary based on socioeconomic status, geographical location, ethnicity, and education levels," says the Daily Mail, adding that this might have something to do with the higher number of repeat teen pregnancies amongst blacks, Hispanics and also American Indians.
Mississippi and Texas — states with the least health insurance — have the highest teen birth rates, the CDC report shows.
"Repeat births can negatively impact the mother's education and job opportunities as well as the health of the next generation," CDC director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H., said in a release, according to the Daily Mail. "Teens, parents, health care providers, and others need to do much more to reduce unintended pregnancies."
Although the CDC report shows that teen births overall were down to a record low of 31.3 live births per 1,000 women in the same age range, the issue remains a topic of maximum import for teen women today.
According to the CDC, teen mothers are less likely to complete high school, get a job or go to college. The children of teen mothers are also more at risk to have health problems.
"The best way to prevent teen pregnancy is by investing in effective sex education, encouraging teens to talk to their parents, and ensuring access to birth control," Planned Parenthood Federation of America's Vice President of Education Leslie Kantor said in a statement.
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