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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Overall pregnancy rates in the United States have reached their lowest recorded levels in 2017, according to new data from the Guttmacher Institute. The data also provide long-term trends for all age groups, including longstanding declines in pregnancy rates among young people and steady increases among older age groups.
Additionally, the data show strong regional patterns, with higher pregnancy rates among young people in the South and Southwest, and higher pregnancy rates for older age groups in the North and Northwest.
Interactive graphics displaying key findings are available here.
Key study findings:
In 2017, the most recent year for which comprehensive data are available:
- Overall, pregnancy rates for women of reproductive age reached their lowest recorded levels (87 pregnancies per 1,000 women ages 15–44)
- Pregnancy rates for women ages 24 or younger reached their lowest recorded levels, continuing a longstanding decline in pregnancy rates among young people. There were 14 pregnancies per 1,000 women ages 15–17 (down from a peak of 75 in 1989); 57 pregnancies per 1,000 women ages 18–19 (peak of 175 in 1991); and 111 pregnancies per 1,000 women ages 20–24 (peak of 202 in 1990).
- Pregnancy rates among older age groups have been increasing over the past 40 years and peaked in 2016 among women over age 35 (73 per 1,000 women ages 35-39). The rate for women 40 and older reached a historic high in 2017 (19 pregnancies per 1,000 women).
- Pregnancy rates among 15-19- and 20–24-year-olds were generally higher in the South and Southwest. Among women 30-34, 35-39 and 40 or older, pregnancy rates were generally highest in the Northwest and Northeast.
Statement from Guttmacher Senior Research Associate Isaac Maddow-Zimet:
“Our comprehensive data show how people’s reproductive lives have changed over the past four decades—with overall pregnancy rates reaching historic lows.
“Pregnancy rates for young people have reached their lowest recorded levels, and both birth and abortion rates among young people are continuing a longstanding decline over the past two-and-a-half decades. Conversely, pregnancy rates among older age groups have reached historic highs, with abortion rates remaining fairly constant as birth rates have increased.
“As the timing of pregnancy, birth and abortion in people’s lives changes, we need to ensure that everyone, regardless of age, gets full access to comprehensive reproductive health information and services—including sex education, contraception, abortion and pregnancy care.”
Full analysis, including interactive graphics and data set:
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