Teen birth rate hits all-time low, led by Hispanics and blacks

The birth rate among American teenagers, at crisis levels in the 1990s, has fallen to an all-time low, according to an analysis released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The decline of the past decade has occurred in all regions in the country and among all races.

But the most radical changes have been among Hispanic and black teens, whose birth rates have dropped nearly 50 percent since 2006.

Most experts agree on the two major causes for the birth rate decline.

The first: Today’s teens enjoy better access to contraception and more convenient contraception than their predecessors, and more of them are taking advantage of innovations like long-acting injectable and implantable methods over a daily birth control pill.

The second: Teens are having less sex.

“There has been a change in social norms that has happened in the past 20 years, and the idea of not having sex or delaying sex is now something that can be OK,” said Bill Albert, who is the chief program officer for the National Campaign To Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

But while the overall national trend is positive, large racial and ethnic, regional and socioeconomic disparities remain.

The birth rates for Hispanic and black teens, while lower than in the past, still are twice as high as those of white teens. In some states, the difference is three times higher.