Local Statistics

Adolescent Births in Montgomery County, MD

  • Updated with 2014 Results from the Maryland DHMH Vital Statistics Administration  http://dhmh.maryland.gov/vsa/Documents/14annual.pdf
  • Colleen Ryan Smith, M.P.H.
  • Planning and Epidemiology, Public Health Services, Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services
Click here for Power Point

 

Slide 1:  Adolescents Births in Montgomery County

Slide 2:  Adolescent Births per 1,000 Females 15-19 Years, United States, Maryland and Montgomery County, 1996-2014

  • The top graph line shows the US birth rate 1996-2014; the middle line shows Maryland’s birth rate; the bottom shows Montgomery County
  • We can see the decline and we can see that in 2002 the rates seem to plateau, small decline occurs again in 2010-2011, with another plateau for 2012-2014….
  • Montgomery County has one of the lowest overall rates of adolescent births in the State.  However, the number of teen births (2014=375) is among the highest 24 counties in Maryland

Slide 3:  Adolescent Births per 1,000 Females 15-19 Years in Montgomery County, 1996-2013 

Slide 4:  Adolescent (15-17 years) Birth Rate in Montgomery County by Race/Ethnicity, 1999-2014

  • With 2014 update, white teen births among 15-17 year-old females (7.4) surpassed Black/African American teen births (6.3)
  • Adolescent births among all females 15-17 years have declined over the past decade, with some fluctuations over the decade. Rates in 1996-1998 were at a high of 12.8, dropped to 9.2 in 2002-2005, increased to 10.7 in 2006-2008, with a decline to an historic low of 6.2 in 2012-2014…
  • The rate of White births among females 15-17 years has shown mild fluctuations over the past decade with a slight reduction during 2002-2004 to 7.1 per 1,000 population. Most recent rates in 2012-2014 of 7.4 is lowest since that 2002-2004 period.
  • Hispanic births to females ages 15-17 years have increased steadily until 2006-2008 when noticeable declines are visible.
  • An interesting note in trends for 2012-2014 is the reversal in disparities among Black/African American teen girls 15-17 compared to White teens- the rate difference was only 0.04 per 1,000 population in 2011-213, and in 2012-2014, white teen births were at a rate that was 17% higher than Black/African American teen births- a historic low for B/AA teen births in Montgomery County

Slide 5:  Adolescent (18-19 years) Birth Rate in Montgomery County by Race/Ethnicity, 1999-2014

  • Adolescent Births among all females 18-19 years have declined over the past decade from its peak rate of 36.1 in 2000-2002, to historic low in 2012-2014 of 24.9 births per 1,000 population; in between there was an increase in 2002-2007 (36% increase) before reverting to a pattern of decline; birth rates among females 18-19 years are 4 times higher than rates among females 15-17 years…
  • Hispanic births among females 18-19 years had increased from 98.9 in 2000-2002 to historic high of 136.4 in 2005-2007 with a corresponding widening gap with White and Black/African American births.  In 2005-2007 the Hispanic/Latino rate was over 3 times higher than the birth rate among White teens.  Since then, the rate has declined in recent years –by over half by 2012-2014 to 59.2. 
  • After a brief decline through 2002-2004, Black/African American births among females 18-19 years have experienced modest increases and decreases, but has been steadily decreasing since 2007-2009. The disparity gap between White and Black/African American teen births among 18-19 year-olds has decreased from 2002-2004 as well from 1.80 times (or 80%) higher to now (2012-2014) only 1.26 times (26%) higher than White and Black/AA teen births.

MARYLAND DATA

From Power To Decide, The Campaign to Prevent Unplanned Pregnancy  (https://powertodecide.org/what-we-do/information/national-state-data/ma…)>

The teen birth rate in Maryland declined 71% between 1991 and 2016. Even so, in 2016 there were 3,017 births to teens. Most teen births in Maryland (78%) are to older teens (age 18-19). It is also the case that 15% of all teen births were to teens who already had a child. The public savings in 2015 due to declines in the teen birth rate totaled $72 million. Teen birth rates have fallen for all racial and ethnic groups, and in some cases the gap in teen birth rates by race/ethnicity has narrowed, but disparities remain.

The teen pregnancy rate in Maryland, which includes all pregnancies rather than just those that resulted in a birth, has also fallen steeply, by 67 % between 1988 and 2013 (the most recent data available). As of 2013 there were 8,030 pregnancies among teens age 15 to 19 in Maryland.