Series 21

No. 56

Trends in Pregnancies and

Pregnancy Rates by Outcome:

Estimates for the United States,

1976-96

January 2000

Vital and

Health Statistics

From the CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION / National Center for Health Statistics

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Center for Health Statistics
Copyright information

All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be

reproduced or copied without permission; citation as to source, however, is

appreciated.

Suggested citation

Ventura SJ, Mosher WD, Curtin SC, Abma JC, Henshaw S. Trends in

pregnancies and pregnancy rates by outcome: Estimates for the

United States, 1976–96 . National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat

21(56). 2000.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Trends in pregnancies and pregancy rates by outcome: estimates for the

United States, 1976–96.

p. cm. — (Vital and health statistics. Series 21, Data on natality, marriage,

and divorce; no. 56) (DHHS publication ; no. (PHS) 2000-1934)

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 0-8406-0561-7

1. Pregnancy—United States—Statistics. 2. Childbirth—United States—

Statistics. 3. Abortion—United States—Statistics. 4. Fetal death—United

States—Statistics. I. National Center for Health Statistics (U.S.). II. Series. III.

Series: DHHS publication ; no. (PHS) 2000-1934.

HA211 .A3 no. 56

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Trends in Pregnancies and

Pregnancy Rates by

Outcome: Estimates for the

United States, 1976–96

Series 21:

Data From the

National Vital Statistics System

No. 56

Hyattsville, Maryland

January 2000

DHHS Publication No. (PHS) 2000-1934

Vital and

Health Statistics

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Center for Health Statistics
National Center for Health Statistics

Edward J. Sondik, Ph.D., Director

Jack R. Anderson, Deputy Director

Jack R. Anderson, Acting Associate Director for

International Statistics

Lester R. Curtin, Ph.D., Acting Associate Director for

Research and Methodology

Jennifer H. Madans, Ph.D., Acting Associate Director for

Analysis, Epidemiology, and Health Promotion

P. Douglas Williams, Acting Associate Director for Data

Standards, Program Development, and Extramural Programs

Edward L. Hunter, Associate Director for Planning, Budget,

and Legislation

Jennifer H. Madans, Ph.D., Acting Associate Director for

Vital and Health Statistics Systems

Douglas L. Zinn, Acting Associate Director for

Management

Charles J. Rothwell, Associate Director for Data

Processing and Services

Division of Vital Statistics

Mary Anne Freedman, Director

James A. Weed, Ph.D., Deputy Director

James A. Weed, Ph.D., Acting Chief, Reproductive Statistics

Branch

Nicholas F. Pace, Chief, Systems, Programming, and

Statistical Resources Branch

Ronald Chamblee, Chief, Data Acquisition and Evaluation

Branch
Contents

Abstract ................................................................................................. 1

Highlights ................................................................................................ 1

Number of Pregnancies ................................................................................... 1

Pregnancy Rates ......................................................................................... 1

Pregnancy Outcomes ..................................................................................... 1

Trends in Teenage Pregnancy .............................................................................. 2

Variations by Marital Status ............................................................................... 2

Lifetime Pregnancies ..................................................................................... 2

Factors Affecting Variations and Trends in Pregnancy Rates ...................................................... 3

Introduction .............................................................................................. 3

Sources and Methods ....................................................................................... 3

Results .................................................................................................. 4

Trends ................................................................................................. 4

Pregnancy Rates in 1995 and 1996 .......................................................................... 8

Outcomes in 1995–96 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Factors Associated with Pregnancy Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Pregnancy Rates by Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Pregnancy Rates for Hispanic, Non-Hispanic Black, and Non-Hispanic White Women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Other Factors Affecting Pregnancy Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Teenage Pregnancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Technical Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Text Tables

A. Birth rates by age and parity of mother: United States, 1975, 1980, 1985, and 1990–97 ............................ 7

B. Estimated lifetime pregnancy, live birth, and induced abortion rates by race and Hispanic origin, 1990 and 1995 . . . . . . . 11

C. 1-year probability of unintended pregnancy, according to contraceptive method used: United States, 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

D. Percent of women who are seeking pregnancy and pregnancy rate by age: United States, 1995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

E. Percent distribution of contraceptive users aged 15–44 years, by method, according to age and intent to have more

children: United States, 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

F. Total pregnancy rates and total fertility rates by wantedness of pregnancy, by race and Hispanic origin: United States,

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

G. Pregnancy rates for unmarried women in 1995, using 3 different denominators: per 1,000 unmarried women aged

15–44 years; per 1,000 unmarried women 15–44 years who have ever had intercourse; and per 1,000 unmarried

women aged 15–44 years who had intercourse in the last 12 months: United States, 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Figures

1. Pregnancy rates by age: United States, 1980–96 ............................................................. 5

2. Pregnancy, birth, and abortion rates for teenagers 15–17 years ................................................. 5

3. Pregnancy, birth, and abortion rates for teenagers 18–19 years ................................................. 6

iii
4. Pregnancy, live birth, induced abortion, and fetal loss rates by race and Hispanic origin, 1990 and 1995 ............... 7

5. Pregnancy and birth rates by age: United States, 1996 ....................................................... 8

6. Pregnancy rates by age, race, and Hispanic origin of woman, 1995 ............................................. 9

7. Birth rates by age, race, and Hispanic origin of mother, 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

8. Pregnancy, birth, and abortion rates, by marital status, race, and Hispanic origin, 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

9. Total pregnancy and fertility rates by race and Hispanic origin, 1990 and 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

10. Percent of pregnancies ending as a live birth, induced abortion, or fetal loss, by age of woman, 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

11. Percent of pregnancies by outcome, race, and Hispanic origin of woman, 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

12. Percent of pregnancies ending in abortion by marital status, 1980, 1990, and 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

13. Factors affecting birth rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

14. Percent of females aged 15–19 years who have ever had sexual intercourse by median family income of community

and race, 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

15. Percent of births unwanted by the mother, by education and race and Hispanic origin: United States, 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . 20

16. Teenage pregnancy rates by race and Hispanic origin, 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Detailed Tables

1. Numbers and rates of pregnancies, live births, induced abortions, and fetal losses, and number of women: United States,

1976–96 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

2. Numbers of pregnancies, live births, induced abortions, and fetal losses, by age and race of woman: United States,

1976 and 1980–96 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

3. Pregnancy, live birth, induced abortion, and fetal loss rates by age and race of woman: United States, 1976 and

1980–96 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

4. Pregnancy, live birth, induced abortion, and fetal loss rates by age, race, and Hispanic origin of woman: United States,

1990–95 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

5. Numbers and rates of pregnancies, live births, induced abortions, and fetal losses for teenagers, by age, race, and

Hispanic origin: United States, 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

6. Pregnancy, live birth, and induced abortion rates by marital status and race and Hispanic origin: United States, 1980

and 1990–95. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

7. Percent distribution of pregnancies by outcome of pregnancy, according to age, race, and Hispanic origin of woman:

United States, 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

8. Percent of never married males and females 15–19 years of age who have had sexual intercourse, by selected age

groups and sociodemographic characteristics: United States, 1988 and 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

9. Percent distribution of women 15–44 years of age, by frequency of sexual intercourse in the last 3 months,

according to age, marital status, and race and Hispanic origin: United States, 1988 and 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

10. Percent of females 15–19 years of age who have ever had sexual intercourse, by specified contextual characteristics

measured in the 1990 census: United States, 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

11. Number of women 15–44 years of age and percent distribution by marital and cohabitation status, according to age,

parity, and race and Hispanic origin: United States, 1995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

12. Number of women 15–44 years of age and percent distribution by sexual experience, according to marital status, and

by race and Hispanic origin and age for unmarried women: United States, 1995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

13. Number of sexually experienced women 15–44 years of age and percent distribution by interval between first sexual

intercourse and first contraceptive method use, according to year of first intercourse and race and Hispanic origin:

United States, 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

14. Number of non-Hispanic white women 15–44 years of age and percent distribution by current contraceptive status and

method, according to age at interview and parity: United States, 1988 and 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

15. Number of non-Hispanic black women 15–44 years of age and percent distribution by current contraceptive status and

method, according to age at interview and parity: United States, 1988 and 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

16. Measures of teenage sexual activity and pregnancy for women aged 15–19 years by age: United States, 1995. . . . . . . . . . 43

17. Measures of teenage sexual activity and pregnancy for women 15–19 years of age, by race and Hispanic origin:

United States, 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

18. Number of women 15–19 years of age and measures of sexual activity, pregnancy, and births for women aged 15–19

years: United States, 1982, 1988, 1990, and 1995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

19. Selected indicators of sexual activity and condom use among never-married males aged 15–19 years from the National

Survey of Adolescent Males, 1988 and 1995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

iv
Appendix Tables

I. Estimated number of pregnancies by outcome of pregnancy by age, race, and Hispanic origin of woman:

United States, 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

II. Estimated number of pregnancies by outcome of pregnancy, marital status, and race and Hispanic origin of woman:

United States, 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

III. Percent of teenage females 15–19 years who have ever had sexual intercourse, according to 2 measures of age from

the National Survey of Family Growth: United States, 1982, 1988, 1990, and 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

v
Objectives

This report presents national

estimates of pregnancies and

pregnancy rates according to women’s

age, race, and Hispanic origin, and by

marital status, race, and Hispanic

origin. Data are presented for 1976–96.

Data from the National Survey of

Family Growth (NSFG) are used to

show information on sexual activity,

contraceptive practices, and infertility,

as well as women’s reports of

pregnancy intentions.

Methods

Tables of pregnancy rates and the

factors affecting pregnancy rates are

presented and interpreted. Birth data

are from the birth-registration system

for all births registered in the United

States and reported by State health

departments to NCHS; abortion data

are from The Alan Guttmacher Institute

(AGI) and the National Center for

Chronic Disease Prevention and Health

Promotion, Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention (CDC); and fetal loss

data are from pregnancy history

information collected in the NSFG.

Results

In 1996 an estimated 6.24 million

pregnancies resulted in 3.89 million live

births, 1.37 million induced abortions,

and 0.98 million fetal losses. The

pregnancy rate in 1996 was 104.7

pregnancies per 1,000 women aged

15–44 years, 9 percent lower than in

1990 (115.6), and the lowest recorded

since 1976 (102.7). Since 1990 rates

have dropped 8 percent for live births,

16 percent for induced abortions, and

4 percent for fetal losses.

The teenage pregnancy rate has

declined considerably in the 1990’s,

falling 15 percent from its 1991 high of

116.5 per 1,000 women aged 15–19

years to 98.7 in 1996. Among the

factors accounting for this decline are

decreased sexual activity, increases in

condom use, and the adoption of the

injectable and implant contraceptives.

Keywords: pregnancy rates c

teenage pregnancy c birth c sexual

activity c contraception

Trends in Pregnancies and

Pregnancy Rates by Outcome:

Estimates for the United States,

1976–96

by Stephanie J. Ventura, M.A.; William D. Mosher, Ph.D.; Sally C.

Curtin, M.A.; Joyce C. Abma, Ph.D.; Division of Vital Statistics; and

Stanley Henshaw, Ph.D.; The Alan Guttmacher Institute

Highlights

This report presents comprehensive

information on pregnancies and

pregnancy rates in the United

States. The study incorporates birth,

abortion, and fetal loss data to compile

national estimates of pregnancy rates

according to characteristics such as age,

race and Hispanic origin, and marital

status. Trends and variations in

pregnancy rates are described and

interpreted. Summary data on

pregnancies by age are presented for

1976–96; 1996 is the most recent year

for which abortion data by age are

available. Pregnancy estimates by age,

race and Hispanic origin, and by marital

status, race, and Hispanic origin are

shown for 1995, the latest year for

which national abortion data are

available by these characteristics.

Number of Pregnancies

An estimated 6,240,000 pregnancies

resulted in a live birth, induced abortion,

or fetal loss in the United States in

1996, half a million fewer than the

number estimated for 1990 (6,778,000),

when the number of pregnancies

reached its peak. Since 1990 the total

number of pregnancies has declined

steadily, by an average of more than

1 percent per year.

The 1996 total of 6.24 million

pregnancies included 3.89 million live

births, 1.37 million induced abortions,

and 0.98 million fetal losses. This

means that 62 percent of pregnancies in

the U.S. ended in live birth, 22 percent

in induced abortion, and 16 percent in

fetal loss.

Pregnancy Rates

The pregnancy rate, defined as the

number of pregnancies per 1,000 women

aged 15–44 years, was 104.7 in 1996,

9 percent lower than the rate in 1990

(115.6). The 1996 pregnancy rate is the

lowest recorded since 1976 (102.7 per

1,000).

Pregnancy rates are highest for

women in their early twenties, with a

rate in 1996 of 183 pregnancies per

1,000 women aged 20–24 years. Rates

are also high among women aged 25–29

years (171 per 1,000) and older

teenagers 18–19 years (146 per 1,000).

Pregnancy Outcomes

Trends in the three components of

the pregnancy rates (live births, induced

This report was prepared in the Division of Vital Statistics. The authors gratefully acknowledge the special

tabulations prepared by Anjani Chandra and Linda Piccinino of the Reproductive Statistics Branch (RSB),

and the thoughtful review of the manuscript by Christine Bachrach of the National Institute of Child Health and

Human Development. Tables were reviewed by Janet Gutierrez of RSB. This report was edited by

Demarius V. Miller, typeset by Jacqueline M. Davis, and graphics produced by Jarmila Ogburn of the

Publications Branch, Division of Data Services.

Page 1
abortions, and fetal losses) have varied

somewhat during the two decades,

1976–96. However, since 1990, rates for

all components have declined. The rate

for live births (fertility rate) fell

8 percent from 1990 to 1997; the 1997

rate matched the record low recorded in

1976 (65.0 births per 1,000 women aged

15–44 years). According to preliminary

data, the fertility rate increased 1 percent

in 1998 to 65.6 per 1,000. The generally

downward trend in the fertility rate

reflects generally stable or declining

birth rates for women in all age groups

under 30 years. The only age groups for

which birth rates have consistently

increased are women aged 30 years and

over.

The rate for induced abortions

declined 16 percent from 1990 to

1996—27.4 induced abortions per 1,000

women aged 15–44 years to 22.9. This

rate has fallen fairly steadily since its

peak in 1980, at 29.4. Abortion rates

generally declined for all age groups

under 40 years between 1990 and 1995.

Rates for teenagers continued to decline

between 1995 and 1996, while rates for

women aged 20 years and over held

steady or increased slightly in 1996.

Also contributing to the long-term

decline in the overall rate was the shift

in the age composition of women in the

childbearing ages to older ages, when

abortion rates are lower.

The fetal loss rate has also declined

since 1990, but more modestly

(4 percent), from 17.2 to 16.5 per 1,000

in 1996. The comparatively smaller

changes in fetal loss rates also reflect

the shifting age distribution of women

of reproductive age, to ages at which

fetal losses are relatively more likely.

Trends in Teenage

Pregnancy

Teenage pregnancy rates have

declined considerably in the 1990’s with

declines found for all three pregnancy

outcomes. The overall pregnancy rate

was 98.7 per 1,000 women aged 15–19

years in 1996, down 15 percent from its

high point of 116.5 in 1991. The 1996

rate is the lowest recorded in the two

decades for which this series of

pregnancy rates is available.

The rate for live births to teenagers

15–19 years dropped 12 percent from

62.1 to 54.4 per 1,000 during 1991–96,

and has continued to decline. The

teenage birth rate has fallen a total of

18 percent from 1991 to 1998 (51.1),

according to preliminary data. The first

birth rate for teenagers was virtually

unchanged in 1991–95; nearly all of the

total 10-percent decline since 1991

occurred in 1996 and 1997. In contrast,

the rate of second births to teenagers

who have had one birth has fallen

sharply, 21 percent since 1991. This

decline was especially evident for black

teenagers, for whom the second birth

rate dropped 28 percent.

In contrast to the decline in the

teenage birth rate which began after

1991, the induced abortion rate for

teenagers began to decline after 1988.

From 1988 to 1996, the abortion rate

fell 33 percent from 43.5 to 29.2 per

1,000. The fetal loss rate for teenagers

declined 10 percent between 1991 and

1996 (15.2 per 1,000).

Among the factors accounting for

the overall falling teenage pregnancy

rates are decreased sexual activity,

increases in condom use, and the

adoption of the injectable and implant

contraceptives. The switch from the pill

to Depo-Provera and Norplant among

black teenage mothers may be an

important factor in the recent sharp

decline in their second birth rates during

the 1990’s.

The pregnancy rates for

non-Hispanic black and Hispanic

teenagers are about twice as high as the

rates for non-Hispanic white teenagers.

The lower pregnancy rate for

non-Hispanic white teenagers is due to

both the lower proportion sexually

active and the lower pregnancy rate for

those who are sexually active. In 1995,

57 percent of non-Hispanic black

teenagers and 52 percent of Hispanic

teenagers compared with 46 percent of

non-Hispanic white teenagers were

sexually active. In 1995 about 1 out of 3

sexually active black and Hispanic

teenagers became pregnant compared

with about 1 out of 6 sexually active

non-Hispanic white teenagers.

Variations by Marital

Status

The pregnancy rate for married

women in 1995 was 113 per 1,000,

18 percent higher than for unmarried

women, 96 per 1,000. But the

differences in birth and abortion rates

for married and unmarried women were

much larger: The birth rate for married

women was 84 per 1,000, nearly 10

times their abortion rate of 9 per 1,000

in 1995. For unmarried women, birth

and abortion rates were nearly equal:

Their birth rate was 45 per 1,000 and

their abortion rate was 39 per 1,000.

About three-quarters of pregnancies

among married women ended in live

births during the period 1980–95. In

contrast to this relative stability, the

proportion of pregnancies among

unmarried women ending in live birth

has increased from 33 percent in 1980 to

47 percent in 1995. These nonmarital

pregnancies are now much less likely to

end in abortion—4 in 10 in 1995

compared with 6 out of 10 in 1980.

Changes in marital status and

cohabitation are important factors

accounting for trends and variations in

pregnancy rates for married and

unmarried women. In fact, an analysis

of birth patterns among unmarried

women from the National Survey of

Family Growth shows that almost all of

the increase from the early 1980’s to the

early 1990’s in births to unmarried

women was in births to unmarried

cohabiting women. In the period

1980–84, 29 percent of births to

unmarried women were to cohabiting

women. By 1990–94, this proportion

increased to 39 percent. Most of the

increase was found for non-Hispanic

white women.

Lifetime Pregnancies

Overall, U.S. women are currently

expected to average 2.0 live births, 0.7

induced abortions, and 0.5 miscarriages

and stillbirths (fetal losses), or 3.2

pregnancies each over their lifetimes, if

they experience the age-specific

pregnancy rates observed in 1995

throughout their childbearing ages.

Lifetime pregnancy rates, including rates

Page 2 [ Series 21, No. 56
for each pregnancy outcome, declined

since 1990.

Estimates of lifetime pregnancy

rates are also available for non-Hispanic

white, non-Hispanic black, and Hispanic

women. In 1995 the rates were 2.7

pregnancies per woman for nonHispanic white women, and 4.6

pregnancies each for non-Hispanic black

and Hispanic women. Since 1990, when

these rates were first computed (when

abortion data by race and Hispanic

origin became available), the rate has

declined considerably for non-Hispanic

black women (12 percent from 5.2 to

4.6 per woman), almost twice the

decline reported for non-Hispanic white

women (7 percent from 2.9 to 2.7 per

woman). The lifetime pregnancy rate for

Hispanic women increased slightly, from

4.5 to 4.6.

Factors Affecting

Variations and Trends in

Pregnancy Rates

Data on sexual activity and

contraceptive use based on information

from the National Survey of Family

Growth (NSFG) can help explain trends

and variations in pregnancy rates. NSFG

data on another aspect of pregnancy,

whether the pregnancy was considered

‘‘wanted’’ by the woman when it

happened, is closely linked to

contraceptive use at the time of the

pregnancy. Overall, U.S. women have

an average of 3.2 pregnancies of which

1.8 are wanted births. On average,

non-Hispanic white and black women

report that they want about the same

number of babies (1.7 and 1.8 births

each, respectively), but black women

have about 70 percent more pregnancies

(4.6 compared with 2.7 pregnancies).

Pregnancies among non-Hispanic black

women are more than twice as likely to

end in abortion as pregnancies among

non-Hispanic white and Hispanic

women. Hispanic women want and have

substantially more births than either

non-Hispanic white or black women.

Differences in pregnancy

wantedness among non-Hispanic white,

non-Hispanic black, and Hispanic

women are due in part to socioeconomic

factors at the individual, family, and

neighborhood levels. For example,

women with more education have fewer

unwanted births. This pattern is found

especially for non-Hispanic white and

non-Hispanic black women, with a

smaller effect found for Hispanic

women. Women with more education

use contraception more regularly and

use more effective methods than their

less educated counterparts. Differences

in cultural factors help account for

differences in pregnancy wantedness

between Hispanic and non-Hispanic

women.

In reviewing the declines in

pregnancy, birth, and abortion rates for

women in general and for teenagers in

particular, it may be useful to consider

several possible factors. One is changing

attitudes toward premarital sex. Many

public and private efforts have focused

teenagers’ attention on the importance

of pregnancy prevention through

abstinence and responsible behavior.

Another is the adoption of new, easier-touse, effective birth control methods by

some sexually active teenagers. Third is

the long economic expansion in the

1990’s, increasing economic opportunity

for teenagers as well as older women.

Sexual activity of teenagers, for

example, is closely associated with

simple measures of economic prosperity.

Economic opportunity may have given

teenagers a reason to more highly value

education and work. Thus the

educational and occupational goals of

teenagers may have changed over the

period and the changing attitudes and

new contraceptive methods may have

helped them attain their new goals.

These factors may help explain the

declines in teenage pregnancy rates

during the 1990’s.

Introduction

Detailed national data on live

births and birth rates from birth

certificates are published

annually by the National Center for

Health Statistics (NCHS). It is more

challenging to assemble data on

pregnancies and pregnancy rates because

of difficulty in obtaining timely data for

the remaining two types of pregnancy

outcome, induced abortions and fetal

losses.

This is the fifth in a series of

reports that combine data on registered

births with estimates of induced

abortions and fetal losses to estimate the

number of pregnancies and pregnancy

rates according to women’s age, race,

and Hispanic origin, and by marital

status. The previous reports covered the

periods 1976–81, 1976–85, 1980–88,

and 1980–92 (1–4). This report includes

data on pregnancies and pregnancy rates

for the period 1976–96, with emphasis

on the period 1990–96. Variations in

pregnancies and pregnancy rates by age

are shown for 1996. Data by age, race

and Hispanic origin, and marital status

are available, and are shown for

1990–95. Estimates of pregnancy rates

for teenagers, calculated in different

ways, have been published for 1980 and

1990–95 for most States, and for the

United States for 1973–96 (5–8).

Sources and Methods

The estimates of pregnancies in

this report are the sum of the

three outcomes: live birth,

induced abortion, and fetal loss.

+ The live birth data are complete

counts of all live births tabulated

from the birth-registration system.

These data are published annually

by NCHS (9–12).

+ Estimates of the numbers and rates

of induced abortions are derived

from published and unpublished

reports from the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention (CDC) and

The Alan Guttmacher Institute

(AGI) (8, 13–18). The AGI

estimates the national number of

abortions from surveys it conducts

of all known abortion providers, but

it does not collect data on the

characteristics of women having

abortions (8, 13–15,17). The CDC’s

National Center for Chronic Disease

Prevention and Health Promotion

(NCCDPHP) gathers data on the

characteristics of women having

abortions from most State health

departments (16,18). In 1996, for

Series 21, No. 56 [ Page 3
example, information on the age of

abortion patients was provided to

CDC by 44 States and New York

City (18). The AGI national totals

are distributed by age, race,

Hispanic origin, and by marital

status, race, and Hispanic origin

according to tabulations prepared by

CDC’s NCCDPHP.

States with no data or incomplete

data on abortions, however, included

California and Florida, which

together accounted for an estimated

29 percent of abortions in 1996

(14,18). This means that the

characteristics of a large proportion

of abortion patients are not known.

Several other States have data that

are known to be incomplete. The

AGI estimates shown in this report

assume that the women whose

characteristics are known are

representative of all women who

had abortions. Detailed information

on the adjustment procedures is

provided in the Technical Notes.

+ Estimates of fetal loss rates are

based on sample survey data from

the 1982, 1988, and 1995 National

Surveys of Family Growth (NSFG),

conducted by the National Center

for Health Statistics (NCHS)

(19–21). National samples of women

aged 15–44 years were asked to

report the dates and outcomes of

each of their pregnancies, including

spontaneous fetal losses from

recognized pregnancies. Estimates of

fetal loss rates for individual years

1976–81 are based on the 1982

NSFG; estimates for 1982–87 are

based on averages for the 5 years

before the 1982 and 1988 surveys;

estimates for 1988 and 1989 are

based on averages from the 1988

and 1995 surveys; and estimates for

1990–96 are based on the 1995

NSFG. For the small numbers of

pregnancies to teenagers under 15

years, and for women aged 35 years

and over, estimates of fetal loss are

based on relatively small numbers of

sample cases and should, therefore,

be interpreted with caution. (See

Technical Notes.)

The rate of fetal loss is highest in

the early weeks of gestation (22).

Most fetal losses reported here

therefore are miscarriages; relatively

few are stillbirths occurring late in

pregnancy. Ectopic pregnancies are

also included in the fetal losses.

Because some women are not aware

of very early fetal losses, the

estimates in this report are estimates

of fetal losses from recognized

pregnancies. Estimates using special

methods of detecting these very

early losses would be higher. The

estimates shown here incorporate

age and race and Hispanic

origin-specific rates of fetal loss

from the NSFG. Other studies have

estimated fetal losses differently; see

Technical Notes (8,17).

NSFG data on fetal losses, rather

than fetal loss registration data, have

been used in this report because

registration data are generally

limited to losses occurring at 20

weeks or more, whereas NSFG data

include all gestations.

+ Estimates of pregnancies and

pregnancy rates previously published

for 1988–92 (4) have been revised

for this report. The revisions take

into account more complete

estimates of fetal losses as reported

in the 1995 NSFG. It is believed

that the higher levels of fetal losses

reported in the 1995 NSFG

represent more complete reporting

rather than actual increases in the

rate of fetal loss. The revisions are

discussed in more detail in the

Technical Notes.

Data shown by age of woman refer

to her age at the outcome of the

pregnancy. Some studies of abortion

have used age at conception (13,23).

Pregnancy estimates by marital status in

this report are based on the woman’s

marital status at the time the pregnancy

ended rather than at time of conception;

the effect of this methodology on the

estimates is described in the section on

trends in pregnancy rates by marital

status.

Since 1990 the CDC’s NCCDPHP

has obtained information on the race

and Hispanic origin of abortion patients

from most State health departments.

Therefore, pregnancy data for 1990–95

are shown for non-Hispanic white

women, non-Hispanic black women, and

Hispanic women. Prior to 1990,

information on induced abortion was

available only for white women and

women of all other races combined.

Trend data for the period 1976–95,

therefore are limited to the categories

‘‘white’’ and ‘‘all other.’’

The trend data for the ‘‘all other’’

category are affected by compositional

changes. In 1995, 75 percent of ‘‘all

other’’ births were to black women,

down somewhat from 84 percent in

1980. This reflects the growing

proportions of American Indian and

Asian or Pacific Islander births in the

United States (9). The proportion of

abortions to ‘‘all other’’ women that

were to black women was 85 percent in

1995, compared with 89 percent in

1990. This information is not available

for years prior to 1990.

Results

Trends

An estimated 6,240,000

pregnancies resulted in a live

birth, induced abortion, or fetal

loss in 1996, more than half a million

fewer than the peak number estimated

for 1990 (6,778,000) (table 1). The total

number of pregnancies has declined

steadily since 1990, by an average of a

little more than 1 percent annually.

During the years 1976–90, the estimated

number of pregnancies increased in all

but 2 years.

The pregnancy rate has also

declined steadily in the 1990’s—by

9 percent overall—from 115.6

pregnancies per 1,000 women aged

15–44 years in 1990 to 104.7 in 1996.

The 1996 rate is the lowest recorded

since 1976 (102.7) (table 1). While the

estimated number of pregnancies in

1996 was 25 percent higher than in

1976, the pregnancy rate was just

2 percent higher. Much of the increase

in the number of pregnancies over the

two decades 1976–96 is due to the

Page 4 [ Series 21, No. 56
22-percent growth in the population of

women in the childbearing ages; this

increase was most rapid during the late

1970’s and early 1980’s (24,25).

The trends in the components of the

pregnancy rates have varied somewhat

during the period 1976–96. From 1976

to 1980, the overall pregnancy rate rose

9 percent. This increase is reflected in a

21-percent increase in the induced

abortion rate and 5 percent increases

each in the live birth rate and the fetal

loss rate. During the 1980’s, the

pregnancy rate initially declined by

5 percent through 1986, and then

increased 8 percent to 1990. The trends

in the live birth and fetal loss rates were

parallel to the overall pregnancy rate. In

contrast, the induced abortion rate

declined fairly steadily beginning in

1980, with an overall reduction of

7 percent from 1980 to 1990. The

9-percent decline in the overall

pregnancy rate between 1990 and 1996

was reflected in reductions in all

components—the fertility rate (live

births) (down 8 percent), the induced

abortion rate (down 16 percent), and the

fetal loss rate (down 4 percent).

Trends by Age

Pregnancies and pregnancy rates

were lower in 1996 than in 1990 for

women in all age groups under age 30

years (tables 2 and 3 and figures 1–3).

Over the time period 1976–96,

pregnancy rates for women under age

30 peaked in 1990 or 1991. Rates for

women in their thirties have risen fairly

steadily since 1976; rates in 1996 for

these women were the highest ever

recorded. Rates for women in their

forties have generally increased since

1984. More of the increase in the

pregnancy rate for older women is

associated with the substantial rise in

first birth rates for women in their

thirties and early forties, than in the

second birth rates for these women.

There has been an increasing tendency

for many women in this age group to

postpone their first birth. For example,

the first birth rate for childless women

aged 30–34 years rose by more than

two-thirds from 1975 (53.4 first births

per 1,000) to 1996 (90.1) and continued

to rise in 1997 to 92.1 (table A) (11,26).

Changes in rates of live births by

age were quite similar to the changes in

pregnancy rates. In contrast, rates of

induced abortion have generally

declined since 1990 for all age groups,

although there was a slight upturn in

1996 in the rates for women in age

group 20–39 years. The most dramatic

1980 1985 1990 1995

20

200

35-39 years

30-34 years

15-17 years

18-19 years

20-24 years

25-29 years

NOTE: Rates are plotted on a log scale.

1996

40

60

80

100

140

Rate per 1,000 women

Figure 1. Pregnancy rates by age: United States, 1980–96

1976 1980 1985 1990 1995 1998

10

100

Rate per 1,000 women aged 15-17 years

Pregnancy rate

Birth rate

Abortion rate

NOTE: Rates are plotted on a log scale.

80

60

40

20

Figure 2. Pregnancy, birth, and abortion rates for teenagers 15–17 years

Series 21, No. 56 [ Page 5
decline in abortion rates since 1990 has

been for teenagers 15–17 years—down

28 percent (figure 2). The rate for older

teenagers 18–19 years fell 22 percent

(figure 3). Rates for women aged 20–24

years, the ages when abortion rates are

highest, were 11 percent lower in 1996

than in 1990, and rates for women in

their thirties were 8 percent lower. The

rate for women aged 25–29 years in

1996 was just 1 percent lower than in

1990. While induced abortion rates for

teenagers in 1996 were substantially

lower than in 1980, rates for women

aged 20–39 years in 1996 were about

the same as in 1980, despite the declines

since 1990.

The drop in abortion rates for all

age groups has resulted in a decline in

the overall abortion rate from 1990

through 1995 (the rate held steady in

1996). The decline was reinforced and

strengthened by changes in the age

distribution of women in the

childbearing ages. For example, the

proportion of all women aged 15–44

years who were 18–29 years of age (the

age group when abortion rates are

highest) declined from 40 percent in

1990 to 36 percent in 1996 (24).

Trends in First and Second

Births

The trends in birth rates for first

and second births in the United States

by age for 1975–97 are striking

(table A). According to birth certificate

data, the first birth rate for teenagers

(first births to teenagers per 1,000

childless teenagers) changed very little

between 1991 when it peaked and 1995

(49.6 in 1991 and 49.2 in 1995). Nearly

all the decline in the first birth rate for

teenagers from 1991 to 1997 (a

10-percent decline) occurred in 1996

and 1997 (44.7 per 1,000). In the

1990’s, the second birth rate for

teenagers (second births per 1,000

women who have had a first birth) did

change dramatically; the second birth

rate peaked in 1991 at 220.9, and

declined to 173.7 in 1997—a decline of

21 percent in just 6 years.

For women aged 20–24 years, the

first birth rate changed very little during

the early 1990’s and declined just

3 percent from 1995 to 1997. The

second birth rate for women aged 20–24

years has declined but at a somewhat

slower pace than observed for teenagers;

the rate fell 13 percent from its peak in

1990 through 1996 and then increased

slightly in 1997. For women aged 25–29

years, the first birth rate declined

5 percent from its 1990 peak to 1995,

followed by a slight increase during

1995–97. The second birth rate fell

7 percent between 1990 and 1997.

The first and second birth rates at

ages 30–34 and 35–39 years both

continued to increase in the 1990’s,

although at a slower pace than during

the years 1975–90. The first birth rate

for childless women aged 30–34 years

increased from 81.0 per 1,000 in 1990

to 92.1 per 1,000 in 1997, an increase of

about 14 percent; the second birth rate

only increased about 6 percent.

At ages 35–39 years, the first birth

rate increased from 36.1 per 1,000 in

1990 to 44.5 in 1997, up 23 percent,

while the second birth rate at age 35–39

years increased 18 percent from 50.7 per

1,000 to 59.7. Both rates more than

doubled from 1975 to 1997. Clearly,

birth rates for women aged 35–39 years

increased because of delayed first and

second births.

Trends in Pregnancy Rates by

Race and Hispanic Origin

For both white women and women

of all other races, pregnancy rates

generally declined in the early 1980’s,

then increased until 1990, and have

since fallen (table 3). (The most recent

year for which detailed abortion data by

age, race, and Hispanic origin are

available is 1995; data specific for

teenagers are available for 1996. (See

tables 4 and 5.) The rate for white

women in 1995 was 97.5 pregnancies

per 1,000 women aged 15–44 years,

8 percent lower than in 1990 (106.2 per

1,000). The 1995 rate for white women

matched the recent low point, in 1987.

The pregnancy rate for women of all

1976 1980 1985 1990 1995 1998

20

200

Rate per 1,000 women aged 18-19 years

40

60

80

100

140

NOTE: Rates are plotted on a log scale.

Abortion rate

Birth rate

Pregnancy rate

Figure 3. Pregnancy, birth, and abortion rates for teenagers 18–19 years

Page 6 [ Series 21, No. 56
other races was 137.4 per 1,000 in 1995,

14 percent lower than in 1990 (159.2),

and lower than in any year during the

1976–95 period (table 3).

Trends in pregnancy rates for

non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black,

and Hispanic women are available for

1990–95 (table 4 and figure 4).

(Numbers of pregnancies by outcome,

age, race, and Hispanic origin for 1995

are shown in table I in the Technical

Notes.) Pregnancy rates have fallen

steadily in the 1990’s for non-Hispanic

white and black women. The rate for

non-Hispanic white women was 86.4 per

1,000 women aged 15–44 years in 1995,

12 percent lower than in 1990 (97.7).

The rate for non-Hispanic black women

was 153.4 in 1995, 15 percent lower

than in 1990 (180.2). The pregnancy

rate for Hispanic women declined only

after 1992, dropping from 169.0 to

159.6 in 1995. From 1990 to 1995, the

live birth rate dropped much more for

non-Hispanic black women (16 percent)

than for non-Hispanic white (8 percent)

or Hispanic women (2 percent). In

contrast, the induced abortion rate fell

much more for non-Hispanic white

women (28 percent) than for

non-Hispanic black (13 percent), or

Hispanic women (2 percent).

Trends in Pregnancy Rates by

Marital Status

Pregnancy rates for married and

unmarried women have been estimated

for 1980 and 1990–95 and are shown in

table 6. Rates by marital status, race, and

Hispanic origin are available for

1993–95. (Numbers of pregnancies by

outcome, marital status, race, and

Hispanic origin are shown in table II in

the Technical Notes.) Although birth

rates by marital status, age, race, and

Hispanic origin are available (10–12),

Table A. Birth rates by age and parity of mother: United States, 1975, 1980, 1985, and 1990–97

Year

15–19

years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

First births per 1,000 childless women

1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44.7 79.5 95.4 92.1 44.5

1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46.7 80.9 94.4 90.1 42.6

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49.2 81.8 94.0 87.8 40.8

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50.0 81.5 93.4 85.2 39.5

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49.3 80.6 94.2 83.2 37.8

1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48.9 80.4 95.3 81.4 37.3

1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49.6 81.4 96.4 80.5 36.4

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47.9 81.6 98.6 81.0 36.1

1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42.1 78.6 91.7 69.0 29.3

1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44.5 87.5 96.8 64.8 20.9

1975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47.3 86.4 98.2 53.4 19.8

Second births per 1,000 women who have had one child

1997 ..................... 173.7 172.9 157.6 131.4 59.7

1996 ..................... 173.5 171.7 158.7 129.8 58.4

1995 ..................... 177.5 172.3 158.5 127.8 56.6

1994 ..................... 189.6 178.7 161.2 126.2 54.8

1993 ..................... 203.6 184.5 162.9 125.1 53.5

1992 ..................... 216.9 190.9 164.2 124.0 52.1

1991 ..................... 220.9 193.8 164.7 122.5 51.4

1990 ..................... 218.2 196.8 168.8 124.4 50.7

1985 ..................... 192.1 185.0 162.9 111.5 38.0

1980 ..................... 187.8 189.9 165.5 99.4 30.0

1975 ..................... 171.9 178.7 158.4 92.1 28.0

75

105

21 20

67 35

14

58

34

White Black Hispanic White Black Hispanic

0

50

100

150

200 Live birth Fetal loss Induced abortion

Non-Hispanic Non-Hispanic

1990 1995

98

180

163

86

153

160

Rate per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years

63

89

108

58

15

24

21

15

20

Figure 4. Pregnancy, live birth, induced abortion, and fetal loss rates by race and

Hispanic origin, 1990 and 1995

Series 21, No. 56 [ Page 7
unfortunately, pregnancy rates by marital

status and age cannot be computed

because data on abortions by marital

status and age are not available.

For married women, pregnancy and

live birth rates generally declined since

1980 and dropped 10 percent each

between 1990 and 1995. The induced

abortion rate for married women also

declined, from 10.6 to 8.5 per 1,000

women aged 15–44 years from 1990 to

1995.

Unlike married women, whose

pregnancy rates generally declined, the

pregnancy rate for unmarried women

rose 16 percent between 1980 and 1990,

and then dropped 6 percent from 1990

to 1995. The birth rate for unmarried

women increased 49 percent from 1980

to 1990, and remained about the same

during 1990–95. In contrast, the induced

abortion rate declined 24 percent

between 1980 and 1995.

Rates by marital status are affected

to some extent by the fact that they

reflect marital status at the time the

pregnancy ends. Traditionally, some

unwed couples have married following

the discovery of a premarital conception,

often before the woman gives birth.

However, these ‘‘shotgun’’ marriages

declined steeply between the mid-1960’s

and the mid-1980’s and have continued

to drop (27). In fact, the increase in

nonmarital birth rates over this period is

due in large part to the decline in these

marriages (28).

Changes in pregnancy, live birth,

and induced abortion rates between

1990 and 1995 for married women were

fairly similar for white and all other

women. However, pregnancy and live

birth rates (and fetal loss rates (data not

shown)) declined more for all other

women than for white women between

1990 and 1995. In contrast, the relative

decline in the abortion rate was

somewhat greater for white women

(from 8.5 to 6.6 per 1,000) than for

women of all other races (from 24.7 to

20.2 per 1,000).

Trends between 1990 and 1995 in

pregnancy, live birth, and induced

abortion rates for unmarried women

differed somewhat for white and all

other women. The overall pregnancy

rate changed very little for unmarried

white women, but dropped from 175.0

to 151.9 per 1,000 for unmarried women

of all other races in the 1990’s. The live

birth rate for unmarried white women

increased 14 percent, whereas the rate

for unmarried women of all other races

fell 15 percent. The induced abortion

rate fell 23 percent for white women,

and 12 percent for all other women.

Variations in pregnancy, live birth, and

induced abortion rates for 1995 by race

and Hispanic origin are described in the

next section of this report.

Pregnancy Rates in 1995

and 1996

Variations by Age

Women aged 20–24 years have had

the highest pregnancy rate throughout

the 1976–96 period (table 3 and

figures 1 and 5). The rate in 1996 was

183.3 pregnancies per 1,000 women

aged 20–24 years. Rates for women

aged 25–29 and 18–19 years were the

next highest at 170.7 and 146.4 per

1,000, respectively. The rate for women

aged 30–34 years was 122.5 per 1,000,

and for women aged 35–39 years, it was

60.4 per 1,000. Rates for women under

age 18 years were 67.8 per 1,000 for

those aged 15–17 years and 2.8 per

1,000 for ages 10–14 years.

The patterns by age for live birth

and induced abortion rates differ in that

abortion rates are higher at younger ages

in comparison with birth rates (figure 5

and table 3). Live birth rates are highest

for ages 20–24 and 25–29 years; birth

rates for these groups in 1996 were

110.4 and 113.1 per 1,000, respectively.

The peak ages for induced abortion rates

have been ages 18–19 and 20–24 years;

abortion rates for these groups in 1996

were 44.9 and 50.7 per 1,000,

respectively. Abortion rates drop off

sharply for women in age groups 30

years and over.

Race and Hispanic Origin

Variations in 1995

As noted earlier, pregnancy rates by

outcome of pregnancy for Hispanic and

non-Hispanic white and black women

are available for 1990–95 (table 4). The

text discussion in this section focuses on

variations in these rates for 1995, the

most recent year for which detailed

statistics are available for induced

abortions for all age groups.

Age-specific rates for teenagers recently

became available for 1996 (table 5).

The overall pregnancy rates for

non-Hispanic black and Hispanic

women are fairly similar (figure 4). In

1995, the rates for these groups were

68

146

183

171

123

60

13

15-17 18-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44

0

50

100

150

200

Rate per 1,000 women in specified group

Births Abortions and fetal losses

Age in years

Figure 5. Pregnancy and birth rates by age: United States, 1996

Page 8 [ Series 21, No. 56
153.4 and 159.6 pregnancies per 1,000

women aged 15–44 years, respectively.

The rate for non-Hispanic white women

was much lower, at 86.4 per 1,000.

While the overall pregnancy rates

for non-Hispanic black and Hispanic

women are similar, the rates by outcome

differ considerably (table 4 and figure 4).

The live birth rate in 1995 was higher

for Hispanic women, 105.0 per 1,000,

compared with 74.5 for non-Hispanic

black women. But the induced abortion

rate was higher for non-Hispanic black

women (58.2 per 1,000) than for

Hispanic women (34.4 per 1,000). In

sum, non-Hispanic black and Hispanic

women were about equally likely to be

pregnant in 1995, but Hispanic women

were more likely to carry the pregnancy

to term. Live birth and induced abortion

rates for Hispanic women were about

double the rates for non-Hispanic white

women (figure 4).

Patterns by age in pregnancy rates

were similar for non-Hispanic black and

Hispanic women (figure 6). Rates for

both groups were highest for women

aged 20–24 years and dropped sharply

thereafter: The rate for non-Hispanic

black women aged 20–24 years was

302.4 per 1,000 and the rate for

Hispanic women was 276.5 per 1,000.

Pregnancy rates for non-Hispanic white

women varied less by age and were

consistently lower in each age group

than rates for non-Hispanic black or

Hispanic women. The highest pregnancy

rate for non-Hispanic white women was

for those aged 25–29 years, with a rate

of 147.6 per 1,000.

For women under age 25 years,

pregnancy rates were highest for

non-Hispanic black women. In age

groups 25 and older, rates were highest

for Hispanic women. The variations by

age for birth rates are similar except that

rates for Hispanic women age 15 years

and over are consistently higher than for

non-Hispanic white or black women

(figure 7). The gap is greatest for

women in their twenties. Abortion rates

are highest for non-Hispanic black

women in every age group.

Differences by Marital Status in

1995

The pregnancy rate for married

women in 1995 was 113.2 per 1,000,

18 percent higher than the rate for

unmarried women, 95.8 per 1,000.

Differences in the overall pregnancy

rates, however, are much smaller than

the differences in birth and abortion

rates for married and unmarried women.

The birth rate for married women was

nearly 10 times the abortion rate, 83.7

compared with 8.5 per 1,000 married

women, respectively, in 1995. For

unmarried women, birth and abortion

rates were relatively similar, 45.1 and

39.3 per 1,000, respectively (table 6).

Pregnancy rates by marital status

for black and Hispanic women were

quite different from the rates for

non-Hispanic white women (figure 8).

(Rates cannot be computed for

non-Hispanic black women because the

necessary populations by marital status

are not available; see Technical Notes.)

Pregnancy rates were higher for

unmarried black and Hispanic women

than for married black and Hispanic

women, the opposite of the findings for

non-Hispanic white women. The gap

was especially large for black women:

The pregnancy rate for unmarried

women was 169.4 per 1,000, compared

with 104.5 per 1,000 for married

women. Both birth and abortion rates

were higher for unmarried than for

married women: The birth rate for

unmarried black women was 17 percent

higher, while the induced abortion rate

for unmarried black women was more

than 3 times the rate for married black

women.

While the overall pregnancy rate for

unmarried Hispanic women, 171.7 per

1,000, was 15 percent higher than the

pregnancy rate for married Hispanic

women (149.6), the birth rate for

unmarried Hispanic women (95.0 per

1,000) was 16 percent lower. This

variation is associated with the greater

use of abortion by unmarried Hispanic

women—4 times the rate for married

Hispanic women (58.4 compared with

14.6 per 1,000).

Live birth rates for married women

ranged from 65.1 births per 1,000

married black women to 80.1 per 1,000

15-17 18-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44

Age in years

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Rate per 1,000 women in specified group

White, non-Hispanic

Hispanic

Black, non-Hispanic

Figure 6. Pregnancy rates by age, race, and Hispanic origin of woman, 1995

Series 21, No. 56 [ Page 9
married non-Hispanic white women and

113.2 per 1,000 married Hispanic

women. The range in induced abortion

rates for married women was relatively

greater: from 5.3 per 1,000 for

non-Hispanic white women to 14.6 for

Hispanic women, and 21.5 for black

women (table 6).

Among unmarried women, live

birth rates were 28.2 per 1,000 for

non-Hispanic white women; 75.9 for

black women; and 95.0 for Hispanic

women. Induced abortion rates for

unmarried women were 25.6 for

non-Hispanic white women; 58.4 for

Hispanic women; and 72.7 for black

women. To summarize, pregnancy rates

are highest for married and unmarried

Hispanic women and unmarried black

women. Birth rates are highest for

married Hispanic women and lowest for

married black women. Induced abortion

rates were consistently higher for

unmarried women.

Lifetime Pregnancy Experience

The most recent report on

pregnancies and pregnancy rates

included estimates of the number of

lifetime pregnancies per woman for

1991 (4). These estimates are,

methodologically, extensions of the

better-known total fertility rate (TFR).

The TFR suggests the number of births

per woman implied by the current

age-specific birth rates; the TFR is

published routinely by NCHS.

Extending this approach, a total abortion

rate and a total fetal loss rate can also

be calculated. Summing these rates

yields a total pregnancy rate, and

answers the question, ‘‘How many

pregnancies would a woman have in her

lifetime if she experiences the

age-specific pregnancy rates observed in

the current year?’’ (Details of the

method of computation are described in

the Technical Notes.)

The data shown in table B and

figure 9 represent the average number of

lifetime pregnancies, live births, and

induced abortions per woman implied

by the age-specific rates in 1990 and in

1995 for each group. Given the

age-specific rates for 1995, nonHispanic black and Hispanic women

would have an average of 4.6

pregnancies each during their lifetimes,

with non-Hispanic white women

averaging about 2.7 pregnancies each.

Non-Hispanic black and Hispanic

women have the same number of

pregnancies, but Hispanic women

average about 3.0 births each, about onethird more than non-Hispanic black

women (2.2). The differences in

estimated lifetime abortions are striking:

Non-Hispanic white women average

about 0.5 lifetime abortions per woman

compared with 1.0 abortions per

Hispanic woman and 1.8 abortions per

non-Hispanic black woman. Differences

in lifetime fetal losses are small: 0.4 for

non-Hispanic white women and 0.6 each

for non-Hispanic black and Hispanic

women.

The total pregnancy, live birth, and

induced abortion rates declined between

1990 and 1995 in total and for

non-Hispanic white and black women.

Overall, the total pregnancy rate (TPR)

fell from 3.4 to 3.2 per woman, reflected

in declines in live births and induced

abortions (table B). While lifetime

pregnancies fell for non-Hispanic white

and black women, the declines were

substantial for black women. Black

women averaged 4.6 pregnancies in

1995, compared with 5.2 per woman in

1990. Estimated lifetime live births

dropped more (from 2.6 to 2.2 per

woman) than induced abortions (from

2.0 to 1.8) for black women. Rates for

Hispanic women were essentially the

same in 1990 and 1995.

Outcomes in 1995–96

Pregnancies in 1996 were about as

likely to end as live births (62 percent)

as in 1980 and 1990 (61 percent) (data

for 1996 shown in table 7). The

proportion ending in induced abortion

fell slightly, from 26 percent in 1980 to

24 percent in 1990 to 22 percent in 1996

(basic data in tables 2 and 3). Fetal

losses increased slightly, possibly

reflecting more complete reporting in

15-17 18-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44

0

50

100

150

200

Rate per 1,000 women in specified group

Black,

nonHispanic

White,

nonHispanic

Hispanic

Age in years

Figure 7. Birth rates by age, race, and Hispanic origin of mother, 1995

Page 10 [ Series 21, No. 56
recent years, earlier pregnancy detection,

and a shift within the childbearing ages

to ages when the risk of fetal loss is

higher. The changes since 1990 reflect

declines in the live birth (fertility) rate

and fetal loss rate that occurred

concurrently with slightly greater

declines in the induced abortion rate

(table 1).

Pregnancy Outcomes by Age

Just as live birth and induced

abortion rates vary considerably by age,

the percent of pregnancies ending in

birth, abortion, and fetal loss also varies

sharply by age. The proportion of

pregnancies ending in live births

increased with age from under 15 years

to ages 30–34 years—to more than

two-thirds—and then declined (table 7

and figure 10). The lowest proportions

of pregnancies ending in live

births—about 50 percent—were for

teenagers 17 years and under and

women aged 40 years and over.

Variations in Pregnancy

Outcomes by Race and

Hispanic Origin

Pregnancy outcomes differ

considerably by race and Hispanic

origin. Overall, about two-thirds of

pregnancies among non-Hispanic white

women and Hispanic women ended in

live births in 1995 (table 7 and figure

11). About 16 percent of pregnancies

among non-Hispanic white women

ended in abortion (one in six

pregnancies) compared with 22 percent

for Hispanic women (one in five), and

38 percent of pregnancies among

non-Hispanic black women (two in

five).

Among pregnancies to women aged

20 years and over, the proportion ending

in induced abortion was somewhat

higher for pregnancies among

non-Hispanic black women compared

with non-Hispanic white and Hispanic

women. At age 20 years and over, more

than one-third of pregnancies among

black women ended in induced abortion

(33 to 41 percent).

Pregnancies among Hispanic

teenagers were more likely to end in

live births (nearly two-thirds for each

age group 15–17 and 18–19 years) than

were pregnancies among non-Hispanic

white and black teenagers. For

pregnancies among non-Hispanic white

women, the percent ending in live births

was much higher for older teenagers

(60 percent) than for younger teenagers

(47 percent). The percent of pregnancies

ending in live births among

non-Hispanic black teenagers was

similar for teenagers 15–17 (53 percent)

and 18–19 years (55 percent).

Among the youngest teenagers

under 15 years, pregnancies among

non-Hispanic white teenagers were most

likely to end in induced abortion,

46 percent, followed by non-Hispanic

black teenagers, 43 percent, with the

likelihood of an induced abortion lowest

for Hispanic teenagers, 29 percent.

106

61

105

169

150

172

80

28

65

76

113

95

5

26 22

73

15

58

Married Unmarried Married Unmarried Married Unmarried

0

50

100

150

200

Rate per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years

Pregnancy Birth Induced abortion

White, non-Hispanic Black Hispanic

NOTE: Rates cannot be computed for non-Hispanic black women by marital status because the necessary populations are not

available; see Technical Notes.

Figure 8. Pregnancy, birth, and abortion rates, by marital status, race, and Hispanic origin,

1995

Table B. Estimated lifetime pregnancy, live birth, and induced abortion rates by race and Hispanic origin, 1990 and 1995

[Rates are sums of rates for 5-year age groups (in table 5) multiplied by 5 and divided by 1,000; see Technical Notes]

Race and Hispanic origin

Pregnancies1 Live births Induced abortions

1990 1995 1990 1995 1990 1995

Total2

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4 3.2 2.1 2.0 0.8 0.7

Non-Hispanic:

White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.9 2.7 1.9 1.8 0.6 0.5

Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2 4.6 2.6 2.2 2.0 1.8

Hispanic3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.5 4.6 3.0 3.0 1.0 1.0

1Includes estimates of fetal losses not shown separately.

2Includes races other than white and black.

3Includes all persons of Hispanic origin of any race.

NOTE: Total pregnancy rates are estimates of the number of pregnancies a woman would have if she experiences the age-specific pregnancy rates observed in a given year.

Series 21, No. 56 [ Page 11
Differences in Pregnancy

Outcomes by Marital Status

About three-quarters of pregnancies

among married women ended in live

births during each year from 1980

through 1995 (based on data in table 6).

In contrast to the relative stability in

pregnancy outcome for married women

since 1980, among unmarried women,

the proportion of pregnancies ending in

live births has increased from 33 percent

in 1980 to 47 percent in 1995.

Conversely, the proportion ending in

abortion was 59 percent in 1980 and

41 percent in 1995 (figure 12).

Race and Hispanic origin—About

three-quarters of pregnancies among

married white non-Hispanic and

Hispanic women ended in live births in

1995 compared with about two-thirds of

pregnancies among married black

women. Among married women,

pregnancies of non-Hispanic black

women were most likely to end in

abortion (21 percent), compared with

Hispanic (10 percent) and non-Hispanic

white women (5 percent).

Factors Associated

with Pregnancy Rates

I

nformation from the National

Survey of Family Growth (NSFG),

conducted by NCHS, can help

explain trends and differences in

pregnancy rates. The NSFG is a large

population-based survey of women of

childbearing age, focusing on factors

associated with their childbearing and

pregnancies, including sexual activity,

contraceptive practices, and infertility.

The most recent NSFG, which included

interviews with more than 10,800

women, was conducted in 1995; earlier

cycles of the survey were conducted in

1982 and 1988. A small and short

reinterview of the 1988 respondents was

conducted by telephone in 1990

(19–21). Data on the sexual activity and

contraceptive use of teenage males are

drawn from the 1988 and 1995 National

Survey of Adolescent Males (NSAM)

(29).

Figure 13 presents a model of

fertility known as ‘‘the proximate

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

Total White,

non-Hispanic

Black,

non-Hispanic

Hispanic

Estimated lifetime pregnancies per woman

3.2

2.9

2.7

5.2

4.6 4.5 4.6

1.9

2.6 3.0

3.4

2.1

will have if she experiences the age-specific birth rates observed in a given year.

NOTES: Total pregnancy rates are estimates of the number of pregnancies a woman will have if she experiences the

age-specific pregnancy rates observed in a given year. Total fertility rates are estimates of the number of live births a woman

1990 1990 1995 1995 1990 1990 1995 1995

Births Abortions and fetal losses

2.0 1.8 2.2

3.0

Figure 9. Total pregnancy and fertility rates by race and Hispanic origin, 1990 and 1995

Under 15 15-17 18-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-49

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Percent

Live birth

Induced abortion

Fetal loss

Age in years

Figure 10. Percent of pregnancies ending as a live birth, induced abortion, or fetal loss,

by age of woman, 1996

Page 12 [ Series 21, No. 56
determinants of fertility’’ (20, 30–32).

This framework is based on the idea

that the process leading to a live birth

can be divided into three parts: the

occurrence of sexual intercourse, the

occurrence of pregnancy as a result of

intercourse, and the occurrence of a live

birth from a pregnancy. (Exceptions

because of reproductive technologies

such as artificial insemination or in vitro

fertilization are still rare enough that

they can be ignored for this purpose.)

The perspective outlined in figure

13 suggests that a variety of social

factors (such as race and ethnicity,

income, education, work, access to

health care, and the community

environment) affect birth rates primarily

by affecting the probability:

1. That intercourse will occur

(‘‘intercourse variables’’)

2. That intercourse will result in

pregnancy (‘‘conception variables’’)

3. That pregnancy will result in live

birth (‘‘gestation variables’’)

One central purpose of the NSFG is

to provide national data on all of these

social and intermediate variables from a

single source. This report uses the

NSFG data in combination with

information on registered births and

induced abortions. Thus, the following

sections that discuss trends and

differences in pregnancy rates are

necessarily limited to variables that are

available from information on registered

births and induced abortions: age,

marital status (married and unmarried),

and race and origin (Hispanic,

non-Hispanic black, and non-Hispanic

white). Because the NSFG and the

NSAM are sample surveys, the data

from the surveys have some sampling

variability (or sampling error) so small

differences between percents from the

surveys may be a result of sampling

error. As a result, the following text will

focus only on the larger differences.

Following a brief general discussion

of contraceptive use, this section will

focus on differences in pregnancy rates

by age and among Hispanic,

non-Hispanic black, and non-Hispanic

white women. The intermediate

variables of sexual intercourse and

contraceptive use will be the focus for

explaining these differences. Selected

details of the intermediate variables will

be discussed: the age at first intercourse

and the frequency of intercourse

(tables 8–10); marital status and

cohabitation (tables 11 and 12); first use

of contraception (table 13); and current

contraceptive use and method choice

(tables 14 and 15). Also briefly

discussed are other factors that are

important for understanding pregnancy

rates and differentials: pregnancy rates

among unmarried women, the impact of

characteristics of the community on

pregnancy rates, and whether

pregnancies are wanted or unwanted.

The final section is devoted to

proximate determinants associated with

teenage pregnancy (tables 16–19).

For ease and clarity, in the

discussions of differences among

non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black,

and Hispanic women, non-Hispanic

white women are usually referred to as

‘‘white,’’ and non-Hispanic black

women are usually referred to as

‘‘black.’’ Hispanic women may be of

any race.

Contraceptive use—Contraceptive use

and specific method choice are among

the most critical factors affecting the

likelihood that sexual intercourse will

result in a pregnancy. Contraceptive

methods have different rates of

effectiveness, so the decision to use a

contraceptive method, and the method

that is chosen, may help to explain

White,

non-Hispanic Hispanic

67% 16%

17%

49%

38%

13%

66% 22%

13%

Live births Abortions Fetal losses

Black,

non-Hispanic

Figure 11. Percent of pregnancies by outcome, race, and Hispanic origin of woman, 1995

10

59

8

47

8

41

Married Unmarried

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Percent

1980 1990 1995

Figure 12. Percent of pregnancies ending in abortion by marital status, 1980, 1990, and

1995

Series 21, No. 56 [ Page 13
group differences in pregnancy rates.

Data from the NSFG have been used to

calculate contraceptive ‘‘failure’’ rates,

which show the probability of having an

unintended pregnancy within the first

year of use of a given contraceptive

method (33). These rates represent

‘‘typical use’’ of contraception, rather

than ‘‘perfect use’’ (34). That is, a

contraceptive failure may be due to (a)

failure of the method or to (b) failure of

the user to use the method correctly or

consistently. Inconsistent use of the

pill—forgetting to take them some days,

for example—is relatively common (35);

inconsistent use of the condom—not

using it during every act of

intercourse—is also quite common (21).

In other words, many users of

contraception found it difficult to

consistently use the methods that were

available in 1995.

A recent analysis of the 1995 NSFG

data (33) shows 1-year probabilities of

unintended pregnancy during use of

each method. The rates are corrected for

underreporting of abortion and

standardized for characteristics of users

(controlling for duration of use, age,

marital status, and poverty status), so

that they are as comparable to each

other as possible. The data show clearly

that the choice of contraceptive method

is an important factor in determining

pregnancy rates (33,34). The overall

unintended pregnancy rates for each

method, expressed in percents, vary

from 1 percent for the Norplant implant

to 29 percent for spermicides (table C).

For injectable contraception, the

probability of an unintended pregnancy

in 12 months was 3 percent; for the pill,

it was 8 percent, probably because some

women sometimes forgot to take the

pill. In contrast, other methods have

substantially higher rates of unintended

pregnancy: condoms have a rate of

15 percent, while diaphragms have a

rate of 16 percent per year. Withdrawal

(27 percent), periodic abstinence

(25 percent) and spermicides

(29 percent) have the highest ‘‘failure’’

rates, which means that many users find

it difficult to use them properly.

However, the estimated pregnancy rate

for those not using any method for a

year is around 85 percent, so choosing

any method sharply reduces the

pregnancy rates compared with using no

method.

Pregnancy Rates by Age

There is a distinct and long-standing

age pattern in pregnancy rates in the

United States (1996 rates shown in

figure 5) (1–4). The rate increases with

age to a peak of 183 at ages 20–24

years and then declines. In this section,

the factors behind these age variations

are considered. These factors include

sexual activity, marital status, parity,

contraceptive use, and infertility. Along

with marital status, current parity is a

key factor in determining whether a

woman wants to have a(nother) child.

Sexual activity—Overall 49 percent of

females aged 15–19 years have had

intercourse at least once—and thus, have

been exposed to the chance of becoming

pregnant (table 8). At age 15, about

one-fourth of females have ever had

intercourse; by age 19, about

three-fourths have had intercourse at

least once. The figures for males follow

the same pattern but are somewhat

higher at each age (table 8).

About 47 percent of teenage

females have had intercourse in the last

12 months (prior to the 1995 interview)

(table 9). Among women in their

twenties, 86 percent have had sex in the

last 12 months; 89 percent of women

aged 30–44 years have had intercourse

in the last 12 months.

Intercourse variables:

Social factors

Intermediate variables*

Conception variables:

Pregnancy outcome

(gestation) variables:

Fertility

(live

births)

timing of first intercourse

frequency of intercourse Race/ethnicity

contraceptive use

Income

percent of women who

ever had intercourse

Religion

sterilization

Access to health care

Family background

miscarriage and

stillbirth

Community environment

(economic, social, etc.)

time spent in marriage

(separation, divorce)

Labor force participation

Education

infertility

induced abortion

SOURCE: References 30-32.

*Also known as the proximate determinants of fertility.

Figure 13. Factors affecting birth rates

Table C. 1-year probability of unintended

pregnancy, according to contraceptive

method used: United States, 1995

Method

Percent becoming

pregnant

Total, all reversible methods . . . . 13

Norplant implants . . . . . . . . . . 1

Depo-Provera Injectable....... 3

Pill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Condom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Diaphragm/cervical cap . . . . . . . 16

Withdrawal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Periodic abstinence . . . . . . . . . 25

Spermicides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

No method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

SOURCES: Specific methods: reference 32. The rates cited

here are labeled ‘‘corrected, standardized’’ in table 1 of the

article (see Internet release: http://www.agi-usa.org/pubs/

journals/3105699.html. No method: reference 33.

Page 14 [ Series 21, No. 56
The frequency of intercourse is

another factor that affects pregnancy

rates: according to 1995 data, 13 percent

of teenagers 15–17 years, 31 percent of

teenagers 18–19 years, and 52–53

percent of women aged 20 years and

over report having had intercourse once

a week or more (table 9).

Marital status and parity—A higher

percent of adult women have intercourse

regularly because they are more likely

to be married. The effect of marital

status on pregnancy is tempered with

age as women reach their desired

number of children (tables 9 and 11). In

each successive age group, an increasing

proportion of women is married and an

increasing proportion has had children;

women aged 30 years and over are more

likely than younger women to have had

the number of children they want, so

more of them take steps to prevent

themselves from having more

pregnancies (35). Only 4 percent of

females aged 15–19 years are currently

married, but about 8 percent of

teenagers have already had a child.

Among women aged 20–24 years,

27 percent are married and 35 percent

have had a child (basic data are shown

in table 11). In part because more

women in their twenties are sexually

active and more are married, the

pregnancy rate of 183 per 1,000 for

women aged 20–24 years is nearly

double the pregnancy rate for women

aged 15–19 years. At ages 30–44 years,

the pregnancy rate declines despite the

fact that more women are married and

sexually active than women in their

twenties, in part because 79 percent of

women aged 30–44 years have already

had children.

First contraceptive use—Information

for women who have ever had

intercourse according to the year in

which they had their first intercourse

and the interval, in months, between

their first intercourse and their first use

of contraception is shown in table 13.

Timing of first use of contraception is

associated with variations in pregnancy

rates for teenagers, as shown in a recent

study which found that 40 percent of

teenagers who did not use contraception

at their first intercourse became pregnant

as teenagers, compared with 24 percent

of teenage women who did use

contraception at first intercourse (36).

Use of contraception at first

intercourse has become more common

in recent decades. This could be a factor

influencing recent declines in pregnancy

rates at the youngest teen ages presented

in this report. In the 1970’s, 49 percent

used a method at first intercourse,

compared with 61 percent in the early

1980’s, 65 percent in the late 1980’s,

and 77 percent in the early 1990’s

(table 13). Most of this increase was

due to large increases in use of the male

condom at first intercourse, which was

in turn closely associated with public

concern and education about the spread

of HIV and other sexually transmitted

diseases (21).

Nonuse of contraception—Even after

contraceptive use has been initiated,

occasional and short-term nonuse of

contraception is very common in the

United States, according to data from

the NSFG. A typical woman using

contraception during all of her

reproductive life ‘‘will discontinue use

for a method-related reason nearly 10

times. Such high rates of discontinuation

almost surely reflect dissatisfaction with

current methods’’ (37). In addition, the

proportion of women who are not using

contraception because they are trying to

become pregnant is closely related to

age, as shown in table D. The

proportion peaks at 6 percent at ages

25–34 years and declines to about

2.2 percent at ages 40–44 years. The

pattern of pregnancy rates by age is

similar (table D).

Infertility—At ages 15–34 years, most

women who remain nonusers of

contraception will become pregnant

within a few months. By ages 35–39

and 40–44 years, women’s physical

ability to conceive and carry a baby to

term declines (21,38). Thus, nonuse of

contraception is not as likely to result in

a pregnancy at ages 35–44 years as it is

for younger women. In 1995, 13 percent

of women aged 35–44 years had

‘‘impaired fecundity’’—that is, difficulty

or inability to get pregnant or carry a

baby to term. An additional 7 percent

were surgically sterile for reasons other

than contraception (for a total of

20 percent with inability or difficulty

having a live birth) (21). The proportion

who had impaired fecundity or were

surgically sterile for noncontraceptive

reasons was only 6 percent among

women aged 15–24 years; among

women aged 25–34 years, it was

12 percent. Thus, as depicted in figure

13, in addition to sexual activity, marital

status, parity, and contraceptive use, the

ability of the woman to become

pregnant is a factor in determining

pregnancy rates, especially at older ages.

Contraceptive method choice—In 1995,

as in previous years, the pill was the

method chosen most often by young

women and by women who intend to

have more children: 51 percent of

contraceptive users who intend to have

more children use the pill, and

32 percent have partners who use

condoms (a total of 83 percent, or 5 out

of 6) (table E). Use of the pill and

condom are highest at 15–29 years of

age (39).

Many women who do not intend to

have any more births were using female

sterilization or male sterilization

(46 percent and 18 percent of users,

respectively, for a total of 64 percent).

By age 40–44 years, 70 percent of

contraceptive users are using female or

Table D. Percent of women who are seeking pregnancy and pregnancy rate by age:

United States, 1995

Age

Seeking

pregnancy

Pregnancy

rate

Percent in each age group

15–19 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.9 9.9

20–24 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4 18.3

25–29 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1 17.1

30–34 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2 12.3

35–39 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6 6.0

40–44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2 1.3

SOURCES: table 3; reference 21(table 41).

Series 21, No. 56 [ Page 15
male sterilization. This use of

sterilization along with greater difficulty

in conceiving helps explain the decline

of pregnancy rates as age increases and

the very low rates for women aged 40

years and over.

Imperfect use of reversible

contraceptive methods— The

effectiveness of contraceptive use

increases with age. Overall, the

probability of having an unintended

pregnancy in the first year of

contraceptive use was about 13 percent

in the early 1990’s, according to a

recent study (33). For teenagers, the

probability was 16 percent; at ages

20–24 years, it was 15 percent; at ages

25–29 years, it was 13 percent; and at

ages 30–44 years, the probability of

unintended pregnancy was 9 percent—

about half the figure for teenagers.

(These figures represent reversible

contraceptive methods only; that is,

sterilization is excluded.)

Pregnancy Rates for

Hispanic, Non-Hispanic

Black, and Non-Hispanic

White Women

This section will focus on factors

associated with differences in birth and

pregnancy patterns by race and Hispanic

origin. As was noted earlier, the total

pregnancy rates (TPR) of black and

Hispanic women (4.6 pregnancies per

woman) are about 70 percent higher

than for white women (2.7 per woman).

Later in this report, we will show that

higher levels of unwanted births and

abortions among black and Hispanic

women account for this difference

(tables B and F). This section will

attempt to explain how the disparity

occurs.

Sexual Experience

One reason that black and Hispanic

women have more pregnancies and

births and more unwanted pregnancies

than white women is that they are at

risk of becoming pregnant at earlier

ages, hence the disparity in pregnancy

rates during the teenage years as shown

in figure 6. One important reason for

this difference is that they begin their

sexual activity at an earlier age than

white women. In 1995, 59 percent of

black teenage females had ever had

sexual intercourse, compared with

53 percent of Hispanic and 49 percent of

white teenagers (table 8).

Differences between Hispanic,

white, and black individuals, such as in

sexual experience, are often associated

with characteristics other than race and

ethnicity per se, such as socioeconomic

and family background characteristics.

The data in table 8 illustrate the

associations of individual characteristics

with teenage sexual experience, using

data from the 1995 NSFG and the 1995

NSAM (29, 40).

For example, among teenage

females in 1995, about 60 percent had

ever had intercourse if their mother did

not complete high school compared with

just 37 percent of teenage females

whose mothers were college graduates.

This difference by mother’s education

was found for both male and female

teenagers in 1988 and in 1995, but the

educational disparity was larger in 1995.

Teenage females who lived with

both of their parents at age 14 were

much less likely than their counterparts

who lived with a single parent to have

had intercourse (43 compared with

59 percent). For teenage males, a similar

pattern was found.

Table E. Percent distribution of contraceptive users aged 15–44 years, by method, according to age and intent to have more children:

United States, 1995

Age and birth intentions Total

Contraceptive method

Female

sterilization

Male

sterilization Pill Condom All other

Total, 15–44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 28 11 27 20 14

15–19 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 0 0 44 37 19

20–24 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 4 1 52 26 17

25–29 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 17 5 39 24 15

30–34 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 29 10 28 18 15

35–39 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 41 19 11 17 12

40–44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 50 20 6 12 12

Intends to have more children:

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 0 0 51 32 17

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 46 18 13 13 10

SOURCE: reference 39.

Table F. Total pregnancy rates and total fertility rates by wantedness of pregnancy, by

race and Hispanic origin: United States, 1995

[Rates are pregnancies and births per woman; see Technical Notes for method of calculation]

1995

TPR

1995

TFR

Percent

wanted

Wanted

TFR

Total1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 2.0 90.1 1.8

White non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.7 1.8 93.3 1.7

Black non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6 2.2 80.9 1.8

Hispanic2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6 3.0 89.6 2.7

1Includes races other than white and black.

2Includes all persons of Hispanic origin of any race.

NOTE: Figures for percent wanted include births that are intended as well as births that are mistimed. See reference 21

(table 14).

Page 16 [ Series 21, No. 56
Contraception

First use—In each time period,

Hispanic women were much less likely

than white and black women to use a

contraceptive method at their first

intercourse (table 13). In the 1990’s,

54 percent of Hispanic women used a

method at first intercourse—compared

with 74 percent of black women and

84 percent of white women. Similarly, in

the 1990’s, 16 percent of Hispanic

women began their first contraceptive

use more than a year after first

intercourse compared with 9 and

4 percent, respectively, for black and

white women.

The proportion of black women and

their partners who used a method at first

intercourse nearly doubled in recent

decades, from 38 percent in the 1970’s

to 74 percent in the 1990’s. This rapid

increase may be related to the decline in

the black teenage birth rate in the

1990’s (12).

Contraceptive choice—As discussed

previously, choice of a contraceptive

method is a very important factor

affecting pregnancy rates, due to the

varying levels of effectiveness of

methods. Examination of differences in

methods used by white, black, and

Hispanic women can thus contribute to

an understanding of pregnancy

differentials. It is also useful to examine

method choice by parity, because

methods tend to differ between childless

women and women with children. Data

on contraceptive method(s) women were

using at the time of the survey (‘‘current

contraceptive status’’) are shown for

1988 and 1995 by age and parity for

white women (table 14), and for black

women (table 15). (Sample sizes for

Hispanic women, especially in 1988, are

too small to show reliable trend data by

age and parity.)

Differences in methods may help to

explain why 20 percent of black women

experience an accidental pregnancy (i.e.,

a contraceptive failure) during the first

year of use, compared with 16 percent

for Hispanic women and 11 percent for

white women (33). This leads to the

relatively high rate of unwanted births

and abortions among black and Hispanic

women, and the preference of these

groups for female sterilization as a

contraceptive method (21,39).

Methods for childless contracepting

women—Among teenagers with no

births (zero parity), that is, over

90 percent of teenage females, the pill

and condom are the leading methods for

both whites and blacks.

Among women aged 20–24 years

with no births (parity 0) in 1995, black

women were more likely than white

women to rely on the male condom and

less likely to use the pill (tables 14 and

15). Given that the condom’s failure rate

(15 percent) is about double that of the

pill (8 percent), this difference may be a

factor in the higher pregnancy and

abortion rates for black women in their

early twenties, compared to white

women in that age group (table 4).

Among childless women in the age

groups 25–29 and 30–44 years in 1995,

white and black women had similar

patterns of contraceptive choice (tables

14 and 15). For these childless women,

the pill is generally the predominant

method, with condom use also common.

Changes in contraceptive use among

white childless women aged 20–24,

25–29, and 30–44 years were relatively

small, except for increases in use of the

condom. Among black childless women

aged 20–24 years, the proportion using

the pill dropped from 78 percent in 1988

to 52 percent in 1995; use of the male

condom was reported by 39 percent in

1995.

Contraceptive use among women

contraceptors with one or more

children—The sample sizes in tables 14

and 15 are small for teenagers with one

or more births, so caution in interpreting

estimates is warranted. For white

teenage mothers (parity 1+) in 1995, the

pill was the leading method

(44 percent), followed by the condom at

28 percent. About 22 percent of white

teenage mothers using contraception

used Depo-Provera (injectable

contraception) or Norplant (implant

contraception), two hormonal methods

newly introduced to the United States in

1993.

Black teenage mothers are very

distinctive in the predominance of

Depo-Provera and Norplant (with failure

rates of only 1 to 3 percent) among the

methods they were using in 1995 (table

15). Pill use by black teenagers dropped

dramatically. In 1988, 86 percent were

using the pill, while in 1995 the number

was too small to estimate proportions

reliably. This shift from the pill to

Depo-Provera and Norplant (methods

with lower failure rates) among black

teenage mothers may be an important

factor in the recent sharp decline

(28 percent) in their second birth rates

from 251 per 1,000 in 1991 to 181 in

1997.

Among white mothers aged 20–24

years, there was no significant change in

condom use, pill use declined, and

16 percent were using Depo-Provera or

Norplant by 1995. Among white

mothers aged 25 years and over, there

were few significant changes in

contraceptive practice.

For black women aged 20–24 years

with children, the proportion using the

pill dropped from 63 to 33 percent. In

1995, 22 percent were using

Depo-Provera or Norplant, and the

proportion using the condom soared to

28 percent.

In addition to shifts toward more

reliable contraception, the proportion of

all black women having intercourse and

not using any contraception dropped in

every age group (data not shown). This

drop in unprotected intercourse also

contributed to the decline in the second

birth rates for black women aged 15–19,

20–24, and 25–29 years.

In summary, black women with

children changed their contraceptive

choices significantly between 1988 and

1995, in a way that should have reduced

their risk of unintended pregnancies:

+ the proportion having intercourse

and not using a method dropped;

and

+ use of injectables and implants

(which have very low failure rates)

became quite common, apparently

replacing pill use (which has

somewhat higher failure rates).

Sterilization is the predominant

contraceptive method among women

who have had children. The data in

tables 14 and 15 demonstrate a

well-established pattern: Nearly all

sterilizations to black women were

Series 21, No. 56 [ Page 17
female operations, while among white

women, about one-third of sterilizations

were male operations (41).

Other Factors Affecting

Pregnancy Rates

Three other factors that help us

understand trends and differentials in

pregnancy rates are discussed in the

sections that follow. These include

pregnancy rates for unmarried women,

community characteristics associated

with pregnancy differentials, and wanted

and unwanted births. Data on these

topics are drawn from the NSFG.

Pregnancy Rates Among

Unmarried Women

Substantial proportions of women of

childbearing age are unmarried. Overall,

about 49 percent of women 15–44 years

of age were currently married in 1995;

another 7 percent were cohabiting

(living with a man in a sexual

relationship, but not married); 33 percent

were never married (and not cohabiting),

and 10 percent were separated, divorced,

or widowed (table 11). Only 25 percent

of black women are currently married,

compared with 47 percent of Hispanic

women and 54 percent of white women

(table 11, lower panel).

Pregnancy rates for unmarried

women are affected by differences in

sexual activity. Included in table 12 is

information on unmarried women

according to whether they had sexual

intercourse in the last 12 months. About

65 percent of unmarried women had

intercourse in the last 12 months. For

unmarried black women aged 20 years

and over, 83 percent had had intercourse

in the last 12 months, compared with

74 percent of unmarried white women in

this age group.

The rise in cohabitation is an

important factor when examining trends

in nonmarital pregnancy. In fact, a

recent analysis of birth patterns among

unmarried women from the NSFG found

that almost all of the increase from the

early 1980’s to the early 1990’s in

births to unmarried women was in births

to unmarried cohabiting women (42). In

the period 1980–84, 29 percent of births

to unmarried women were to cohabiting

women. By 1990–94, this proportion

increased to 39 percent. Most of the

increase was found for non-Hispanic

white women.

It is useful to calculate pregnancy

rates for unmarried women limited to

women who have had intercourse, as

shown in table G. The overall rate for

all unmarried women was 96

pregnancies per 1,000 unmarried

women. When the same number of

births is divided by the number of

unmarried women who have ever had

intercourse, the rate was 26 percent

higher, at 121 per 1,000.

Limiting the rate further to women

who had intercourse in the last 12

months represents a close approximation

to the population who were actually at

risk of pregnancy in 1995. The

pregnancy rate computed on this basis

was 147 per 1,000 unmarried women, or

about 15 percent. But these rates differ

substantially for white, black, and

Hispanic women: 95 for unmarried

white women (per 1,000 who had

intercourse in the last 12 months), 222

for unmarried black women, and 291 for

unmarried Hispanic women. In sum,

nearly 30 percent of sexually active

unmarried Hispanic women became

pregnant in 1995, almost triple the rate

for unmarried white women. The rate

for sexually active unmarried black

women is about double the rate for

unmarried sexually active white women.

Thus, factors other than just sexual

activity account for the racial disparity

in pregnancy rates for unmarried

women.

Community Characteristics

Differences in pregnancy rates

among white, black, and Hispanic

persons are associated with

characteristics of the communities in

which they live as well as the

characteristics of individuals (43–45).

Information on the characteristics of the

communities in which women live is

available in the NSFG contextual data

file (see Technical Notes). Three of

those characteristics are shown in

table 10: median family income, the

unemployment rate, and the percent of

households receiving welfare assistance,

all taken from 1990 census data. (There

were not enough Hispanic teenagers or

teenagers of other races in the sample to

compute these statistics reliably.)

In neighborhoods (defined here as

block groups) with a median family

income less than $20,000, 69 percent of

teenage females had ever had sexual

intercourse; in neighborhoods in which

the median family income was between

$20,000 and $50,000, 51 percent had

ever had intercourse; and in

neighborhoods with median family

incomes of $50,000 or more, only

37 percent had ever had intercourse.

(See also figure 14.) These differences

are found for both white and black

teenagers. In addition, these findings

show that the white and black

differences tend to be smaller when the

characteristics of the community are

taken into account (table 10 compared

with table 8).

If the unemployment rate in the

teenager’s neighborhood in 1990 was

10 percent or higher, a larger proportion

of teenage females had ever had

intercourse (by 1995) than in

Table G. Pregnancy rates for unmarried women in 1995, using 3 different denominators:

per 1,000 unmarried women aged 15–44 years; per 1,000 unmarried women aged 15–44

years who have ever had intercourse; and per 1,000 unmarried women aged 15–44 years

who had intercourse in the last 12 months: United States, 1995

Race and origin

Pregnancy rates per 1,000 unmarried women 15–44 years

All

Who ever had

intercourse

Who ever had intercourse

in the last 12 months

All women1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 121 147

Non-Hispanic white . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 78 95

Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 192 222

Hispanic2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172 222 291

1Includes races other than white and black.

2Includes all persons of Hispanic origin of any race.

Page 18 [ Series 21, No. 56
neighborhoods in which the

unemployment rate was less than

5 percent. Again, this was true for both

white and black teenagers. The same

pattern was found for the proportion of

households receiving welfare in 1990.

The proportion of teenage females, both

white and black, who had ever had

intercourse was substantially higher in

communities with 9 percent or more of

the households receiving welfare than in

communities with 8 percent or fewer

households receiving welfare in 1990.

Thus, early sexual activity is closely

associated with these simple measures

of the economic prosperity of the

neighborhood: its average family

income, the percent unemployed, and

the percent receiving welfare assistance.

The findings for these three measures

are consistent with theories suggesting

that teenage sexual behavior is affected

significantly by the social environment

and by economic opportunity (43–47). A

multivariate analysis of the 1988 NSFG

data, for example, also found that,

controlling for the effects of other

variables, use of contraception at first

intercourse among black and white

women was significantly higher when

the teenage girl’s mother had higher

levels of education, when the teenager

lived in a two-parent family, and when

the socioeconomic status of her

neighborhood was higher (48).

Wanted and Unwanted Births

Despite widespread availability of

contraceptive methods, women’s ability

to control their own reproduction is far

from perfect. The measure of unwanted

births can be combined with birth rates

to show the effect on population growth

of women having more children than

they want—overall and in various

subgroups of the population.

Generated from a series of

questions in the NSFG interview, an

unwanted birth refers to a birth resulting

from a pregnancy that a woman had

despite wanting no more pregnancies at

the time she became pregnant. This

concept is closely linked to

contraceptive use at the time of

pregnancy. For example, if a woman

had two children and did not want to

have any more, but became pregnant

with her third child, that pregnancy

would be classified as unwanted.

Women were asked to report the

wantedness of pregnancies

retrospectively, that is, thinking back to

the time the pregnancy was conceived.

For the purposes of this exercise,

‘‘wanted’’ births are all those not falling

into this ‘‘unwanted’’ category. It should

be noted that births that were unwanted

at conception do not necessarily become

unwanted children. Mothers who report

a pregnancy as unwanted at the time of

conception may later cherish the child

born as a result of that pregnancy.

Among births occurring during

1990–95, 93.3 percent of births to

non-Hispanic white women, 80.9 percent

of births to non-Hispanic black women,

and 89.6 percent of births to Hispanic

women were wanted (table F) (21). A

wanted total fertility rate can be

computed by multiplying the TFR for

1995 (table B) by the percent of births

that were wanted as shown in table F.

Black and white women want about the

same number of children (1.8 and 1.7),

but black women average almost 2

pregnancies more per woman than white

women (4.6 compared with 2.7). These

pregnancies to black women ended

primarily in abortions or in unwanted

births. Hispanic women want more

births (2.7 per woman) than either black

women or white women, but they also

have about two pregnancies more (4.6)

than they wanted. Thus, while more of

their births are wanted, they still have a

substantial proportion of pregnancies

that end in abortion and unwanted births

(49).

Differences in pregnancy

wantedness among white, black, and

Hispanic women are associated with

measures of socioeconomic status such

as the woman’s education. The percents

of births unwanted by the woman’s

education and her race and origin are

shown in figure 15.

At least two facts are clear from

this figure. First, women with more

education have fewer unwanted births.

The reduction in the percent of births

that were unwanted as education rises is

very clear for all women (18 to

5 percent), white women (13 to

3 percent), and black women (34 to

11 percent). It is much less apparent for

Hispanic women (14 to 10 percent).

Second, the white-black difference in the

percent of births that were unwanted

when they were conceived persists at

every educational level. Thus, part, but

not all, of the overall disparity in

unwanted pregnancies between white

and black women is associated with the

lower educational attainment of black

women (50). Other factors besides

education may include marital status

(table 11) and age at first birth (12).

69

61

68

51 51

57

37 38

45

Total White, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80 $0-$19,999 $20,000-$49,999 $50,000 or more

NOTES: Community unit of aggregation = block group. Data are not shown for Hispanic teenagers because the sample size

was insufficient to compute these statistics reliably. Percent

Figure 14. Percent of females aged 15–19 years who have ever had sexual intercourse by

median family income of community and race, 1995

Series 21, No. 56 [ Page 19
Teenage Pregnancy

In two previous reports on

pregnancy rates (3,4), the rate of

teenage pregnancy was calculated in two

ways: per 1,000 teenage women 15–19

years, and per 1,000 women aged 15–19

years who had ever had intercourse. In

this report, another refinement has been

introduced: the pregnancy rate per 1,000

teenagers who had intercourse in the last

12 months. Also used in table G, this is

a better approximation of the population

at risk of a pregnancy in the last year

than those who have ‘‘ever had

intercourse.’’ A recent study defined the

population ‘‘at risk’’ for teenage

pregnancy more narrowly, as teenagers

who had intercourse in the 3 months

before the survey (51).

Pregnancy rates for unmarried

women sexually active in the last 12

months were described earlier (table G).

As mentioned previously, estimates of

sexual activity in these data are based

on sample surveys, so small

differences—up to 20 per 1,000 or

2 percent—should be attributed to

sampling variability, not to real change.

Pregnancy rates by teenage groups—

Pregnancy rates in 1995 for teenage

women aged 15–19 years and for age

groups 15–17 and 18–19 years are

shown in table 16. For teenagers 15–17

years, the rate was 72 per 1,000

(7 percent). Limiting to sexually

experienced teenagers 15–17 years old

(38 percent of 15–17 year-olds), the

pregnancy rate was 187 per 1,000, or

19 percent. Further limiting the

population to 15–17 year- olds who had

intercourse in the 12 months before the

interview (34 percent of 15–17

year-olds), 212 out of 1,000 younger

teenagers, or 21 percent, became

pregnant.

The pregnancy rate per 1,000

teenagers 18–19 years is much higher

than at age 15–17 years: 151 in 1995, or

15 percent, which is more than twice the

rate among those aged 15–17 years.

Limiting the population to sexually

experienced 18–19 year-olds (71 percent

of 18–19 year-olds), 213 per 1,000

became pregnant. Finally, limiting to

only those who had intercourse in the

12 months prior to the survey

(67 percent of 18–19 year-olds), the rate

was 227 per 1,000.

Thus, in 1995, pregnancy rates were

more than twice as high for older

teenagers as for younger teenagers, but

mainly because about twice as many

older teenagers (over two-thirds) were

sexually active in the last 12 months.

Pregnancy rates for teenage racial and

ethnic groups— Looking now at the

differences by race and ethnicity, the

overall pregnancy rates in 1995 were 72

per 1,000 for non-Hispanic white

teenagers, 184 for black teenagers, and

163 for Hispanic teenagers (table 17

and figure 16). The pregnancy rates for

sexually experienced teenagers—those

who ever had intercourse—were 142 for

non-Hispanic white, 305 for

non-Hispanic black, and 291 for

Hispanic teenagers.

About 46 percent of white,

57 percent of black, and 52 percent of

Hispanic teenagers had intercourse in

the last 12 months. For teenagers

sexually active in the last year, the

pregnancy rates were 156 for

non-Hispanic white, 326 for

non-Hispanic black, and 314 for

Hispanic teenagers.

In summary, the pregnancy rates for

non-Hispanic black and Hispanic teens

were about twice as high as those for

non-Hispanic white teenagers: one out

of three of sexually active black and

Hispanic teens became pregnant in a

year, compared with one out of six

non-Hispanic white teenagers. Thus the

lower pregnancy rate for non-Hispanic

white teenagers is due to both the lower

proportion sexually active and the lower

pregnancy rate for those who are

sexually active.

What produced these differences in

behavior between white and black

teenagers? The answer is not clear-cut.

Differences between white and black

teenagers in current contraception are

not large (tables 14 and 15). The only

differences that are large are use at first

intercourse (84 percent of white

teenagers and 74 percent of black

teenagers), and the percent who first

began using contraception more than 1

year after first intercourse ( 4 percent

white, and 9 percent black). Differences

are due to multiple factors, involving

previously mentioned contraceptive use,

effectiveness of contraceptive use, and

the magnitude of sexual activity-related

risk. As suggested earlier these

behaviors could be related to measures

of economic opportunity and family

18

13

34

14

11

8

22

15

7

6

12

10

5

3

11 10

All races Hispanic

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Percent unwanted

No high school or GED High school diploma or GED

Some college, no bachelor’s degree Bachelor's degree or higher

SOURCE: Reference 21.

White,

non-Hispanic

Black,

non-Hispanic

Figure 15. Percent of births unwanted by the mother, by education and race and Hispanic

origin: United States, 1995

Page 20 [ Series 21, No. 56
stability that are correlated with teen sex

and pregnancy (43,44,46,47). One of the

most thorough demonstrations of this

finding was authored by Hogan and

Kitagawa, using a representative sample

of black teenagers in Chicago (47).

They showed that black teenagers

from‘‘high-risk social environments’’ are

at greatly elevated risk of becoming

pregnant compared with black teenagers

from low-risk environments.

Trends in pregnancy-related variables

for teenagers 15–19 years—Table 18

shows a wealth of data related to sexual

activity and pregnancy rates and

outcomes for all females 15–19 years of

age. (Please note that data on sexual

experience rates and the number of

sexually experienced teenagers are based

on small samples from the NSFG.

Therefore, small changes in either

direction of 2 percent or 100,000 women

should be interpreted with caution.)

Although the number of females aged

15–19 years fell 11 percent from 1982

to 1990 and has only recently begun to

increase, the number of births to

teenagers 15–19 years remained fairly

constant at about 500,000 per year

throughout the 13-year period 1982–95

(lines 1,2). Births were stable because

fluctuations in the teenage birth rate

during this period were substantial

enough to compensate for the changes

in the teenage population. Births to

unmarried teenagers, however, rose

steadily throughout this period—by

44 percent (line 3 of table 18).

The increase in the 1980’s in

nonmarital teenage births coincides with

the steady increases in teenage sexual

activity (1982–90) (21,52). The

proportion of teenage females who had

ever had intercourse rose from

47 percent in 1982 to 55 percent in 1990

before declining to 51 percent in 1995

(line 4). There was no particular trend in

the number of sexually experienced

teenagers; it ranged from 4.5 to 4.8

million during this period (line 5).

The teenage pregnancy rate

increased 8 percent between 1982 and

1990 (107.8 to 116.3) before declining

to 102.9 in 1995 (and 98.7 in 1996)

(line 6). Changes in the number of

pregnancies were not consistent,

reflecting the varying numbers of

sexually experienced teenage women

(lines 5 and 7 of table 18).

One clear pattern during the period

1982–95 was the steady and substantial

decline in abortions among teenagers

(table 18 and figures 2, 3). The number

of abortions to teenagers fell 37 percent

(line 8). Combining information on

pregnancies, live births, and abortions, it

is clear that teenage pregnancies were

increasingly less likely to end in

abortion, but more likely to end as

nonmarital teenage births (lines 9 and

10 of table 18).

While most of the information

available relates to teenage females,

some important data on teenage males

are available from the National Surveys

of Adolescent Males (NSAM),

conducted in 1988 and 1995, the same

years as the NSFG (table 19) (29). Two

indicators of sexual activity and two

indicators of condom use from the 1988

and 1995 NSAM are shown for male

teenagers in table 19. The findings are:

1. For non-Hispanic white males,

sexual activity decreased: the

proportion who ever had intercourse

dropped from 57 to 50 percent

among non-Hispanic white teenage

males; there was no significant

change for black or Hispanic teenage

males.

2. For non-Hispanic white teenage

males, the proportion who had

intercourse in the last 3 months

before the interview decreased from

41 to 32 percent. There was no

significant change for black or

Hispanic males.

3. The proportion of males who used a

condom at last intercourse increased

significantly for both black (66 to

74 percent) and non-Hispanic white

(54 to 67 percent) teenage males.

4. Finally, the proportion who used a

condom every time they had

intercourse with a female in the last

12 months, increased for black (37

to 47 percent) and for non-Hispanic

white (32 to 48 percent) teenage

males.

Additional, more recent evidence of

some declines in teen sexual experience

is available from the Youth Risk

Behavior Survey (YRBS), conducted by

the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention. According to the YRBS, the

percent of high school students in

grades 9 through 12 who were sexually

experienced declined significantly

between 1991 and 1997, from 54 to

48 percent (53) . Statistically significant

declines were found for males, for white

students, and for black students.

Declines for females were not

statistically significant.

Ideally, survey data on sexual

activity and contraceptive use would be

available to provide data for teenagers at

risk of pregnancy that would correspond

72

142

156

184

305

326

163

291

314

All teenagers Sexually experienced

teenagers

Teenagers sexually

active in last year

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Rate per 1,000 women aged 15-19 years

White, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic Hispanic

Figure 16. Teenage pregnancy rates by race and Hispanic origin, 1995

Series 21, No. 56 [ Page 21
directly to key years of peaks and

valleys in their pregnancy rates.

According to the vital statistics data, the

teenage pregnancy rate began to decline

after 1990. NSFG data are available

only for 1988 and 1995 (the 1990

NSFG telephone follow-up was too

small to produce reliable data for

subgroups of teenagers). Thus, trends in

sexual and contraceptive behavior based

on snapshots of these 2 single years

cannot shed light on the significant

recent decline in pregnancy rates,

especially because the 1988 NSFG was

conducted during the period when

teenage sexual activity was on an

upswing. Responding to the need for

more frequent indicators, or

‘‘snapshots’’ of sexual and contraception

behavior, the NSFG could be conducted

more frequently beginning with the

Cycle 6 survey in 2001 (54). However,

indicators of sexual activity and

contraceptive use that pertain to cohorts

of teenagers and signify broad changes

in behavior may help to explain

pregnancy and birth rate declines.

According to the data that are

available, then, at least for non-Hispanic

white teenagers, some of the decrease in

pregnancy and birth rates in the 1990’s

was due to more consistent condom use,

and some to a postponement of sexual

activity. More consistent condom use,

and the increasing use of injectable and

implant contraception, appear to have

produced the reduction in the

non-Hispanic black teenage birth rate.

The birth rate for black teenagers has

continued to fall in the mid-1990’s,

dropping to 85.3 per 1,000 in 1998

(down 26 percent since 1991), according

to preliminary data (55). The Hispanic

teenage birth rate did not change much

between 1988 and 1995, but has fallen

12 percent from 1995 (106.7) to 1998

(93.7) (55,56).

Several possible explanations can be

offered for these changes in

contraceptive use and sexual activity

among teenagers in the 1990’s. One is

changing attitudes toward premarital

sex. A large variety of public and

private initiatives at the Federal, State,

and local level have focused teenagers’

attention on the importance of

pregnancy prevention through abstinence

and responsible behavior (54). Another

factor is the introduction of effective

new birth control methods (implants and

injectables); some sexually active

teenagers have switched to these

methods (33,39). A third factor is the

long economic expansion of the 1990’s,

increasing economic opportunity for

teenagers. The sexual activity of both

white and black teenagers has been

shown to be closely associated with

simple measures of economic prosperity

(table 10 and figure 14). Economic

opportunity may have given teenagers

reasons to more highly value education

and work (45–47). Thus the educational

and occupational goals of some

teenagers may have changed over the

period. Changing attitudes, new

contraceptive methods and new

programs may have helped make these

goals more attainable. These factors

may help to explain the declines in

teenage pregnancy rates during the

1990’s.

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Page 24 [ Series 21, No. 56
Table 1. Numbers and rates of pregnancies, live births, induced abortions, and fetal losses, and number of women: United States, 1976–96

Year

All pregnancies

Women aged

Total 15–44 years

Live

births

Induced

abortions

Fetal

losses1 Total

Live

births

Induced

abortions

Fetal

losses1

Number in thousands Rate per 1,000 women aged 15–44 years2

Number in

thousands

1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,240 3,891 1,366 983 104.7 65.3 22.9 16.5 59,606

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,245 3,900 1,364 982 105.1 65.6 22.9 16.5 59,442

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,373 3,953 1,431 989 107.5 66.7 24.1 16.7 59,284

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,494 4,000 1,500 993 109.8 67.6 25.4 16.8 59,143

1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,596 4,065 1,529 1,002 111.8 68.9 25.9 17.0 59,020

1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,674 4,111 1,557 1,007 113.0 69.6 26.3 17.0 59,079

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,778 4,158 1,609 1,011 115.6 70.9 27.4 17.2 58,619

1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,527 4,041 1,567 919 111.8 69.2 26.8 15.7 58,367

1988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,393 3,910 1,591 893 110.0 67.3 27.4 15.4 58,120

1987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,183 3,809 1,559 815 106.8 65.8 26.9 14.1 57,901

1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,129 3,757 1,574 798 106.7 65.4 27.4 13.9 57,430

1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,144 3,761 1,589 795 108.3 66.3 28.0 14.0 56,716

1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,019 3,669 1,577 773 107.4 65.5 28.1 13.8 56,031

1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,977 3,639 1,575 763 108.0 65.7 28.5 13.8 55,359

1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,024 3,681 1,574 769 110.1 67.3 28.8 14.1 54,700

1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,958 3,629 1,577 751 110.5 67.3 29.3 13.9 53,926

1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,912 3,612 1,554 746 111.9 68.4 29.4 14.1 52,833

1979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,714 3,494 1,498 722 109.9 67.2 28.8 13.9 52,016

1978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,433 3,333 1,410 690 106.7 65.5 27.7 13.5 50,921

1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,331 3,327 1,317 687 107.0 66.8 26.4 13.8 49,814

1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,002 3,168 1,179 655 102.7 65.0 24.2 13.4 48,721

1Spontaneous fetal losses from recognized pregnancies of all gestational periods as reported by women in the 1982, 1988, and 1995 National Surveys of Family Growth conducted by the National

Center for Health Statistics. The rate of pregnancy loss depends on the degree to which losses at very early gestations are detected.

2Rates computed by relating the number of events to women of all ages to women aged 15–44 years.

NOTES: Due to rounding, figures may not add to totals. Rates for 1988–1992 have been revised on the basis of new information on fetal loss from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth. The

revised estimates differ, therefore, from those previously published (see Technical Notes and reference 4).

Series 21, No. 56 [ Page 25
Table 2. Numbers of pregnancies, live births, induced abortions, and fetal losses, by age and race of woman: United States, 1976 and

1980–96

Pregnancy outcome

and year

Age of woman

Race

Total

Under

15 years

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40 years

Total and over

15–17

years

18–19

years White

All

other

All pregnancies Number in thousands

1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,240 26 893 372 521 1,570 1,617 1,312 683 140 - - - - - -

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,245 28 904 384 520 1,602 1,598 1,322 659 132 4,692 1,553

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,373 30 923 392 531 1,682 1,637 1,333 642 127 4,755 1,618

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,494 30 928 387 542 1,762 1,701 1,332 622 119 4,834 1,660

1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,596 30 939 384 556 1,813 1,771 1,326 603 113 4,924 1,671

1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,674 29 975 388 587 1,843 1,827 1,313 581 106 5,006 1,668

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,778 29 1,013 393 620 1,847 1,908 1,319 562 100 5,117 1,660

1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,527 28 999 383 616 1,808 1,858 1,244 501 89 4,923 1,603

1988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,393 27 993 389 600 1,805 1,832 1,191 465 80 4,838 1,555

1987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,183 28 957 386 571 1,784 1,783 1,136 424 71 4,688 1,495

1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,129 29 964 385 579 1,828 1,765 1,081 399 62 4,683 1,446

1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,144 30 981 385 596 1,891 1,764 1,045 373 60 4,733 1,411

1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,019 30 983 378 605 1,894 1,718 993 343 58 4,657 1,362

1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,977 29 1,020 392 628 1,913 1,692 947 319 57 4,628 1,350

1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,024 27 1,058 405 653 1,970 1,695 919 298 56 4,682 1,341

1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,958 28 1,103 424 678 1,945 1,663 897 268 54 4,613 1,345

1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,912 29 1,146 446 699 1,956 1,626 844 258 54 4,585 1,328

1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,002 32 1,073 439 635 1,644 1,381 602 214 56 3,871 1,131

Live births

1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,891 11 492 186 306 945 1,071 898 400 75 3,093 798

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,900 12 500 193 307 966 1,064 905 384 70 3,099 801

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,953 13 505 195 310 1,001 1,089 906 372 66 3,121 832

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,000 13 501 191 311 1,038 1,129 901 357 61 3,150 850

1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,065 12 505 188 318 1,070 1,179 895 345 58 3,202 863

1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,111 12 520 188 331 1,090 1,220 885 331 54 3,241 870

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,158 12 522 183 338 1,094 1,277 886 318 50 3,290 868

1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,041 11 507 181 325 1,078 1,263 842 294 46 3,192 849

1988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,910 11 478 177 302 1,067 1,239 804 270 41 3,102 807

1987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,809 10 462 173 290 1,076 1,216 761 248 36 3,044 766

1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,757 10 462 169 293 1,102 1,200 721 230 31 3,019 737

1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,761 10 467 168 300 1,141 1,201 696 214 29 3,038 723

1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,669 10 470 167 303 1,142 1,166 658 196 28 2,967 702

1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,639 10 489 173 317 1,160 1,148 625 180 27 2,946 692

1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,681 10 514 181 333 1,206 1,152 605 168 26 2,985 696

1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,629 10 527 187 340 1,212 1,128 581 146 25 2,948 682

1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,612 10 552 198 354 1,226 1,108 550 141 24 2,936 676

1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,168 12 559 215 343 1,092 972 392 116 26 2,594 574

Induced abortions

1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,366 10 264 104 160 434 318 195 112 33 - - - - - -

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,364 11 264 106 157 442 308 196 110 32 820 544

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,431 12 276 111 165 478 316 205 111 32 861 570

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,500 12 289 113 175 514 332 211 111 31 911 589

1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,529 13 295 114 181 526 341 213 110 31 944 585

1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,557 12 314 118 196 533 348 213 107 29 982 574

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,609 13 351 130 221 532 360 216 108 29 1,039 570

1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,567 13 371 139 232 509 345 203 99 26 1,006 561

1988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,591 14 393 158 234 520 347 197 96 24 1,026 565

1987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,559 14 382 161 221 518 337 192 93 23 1,017 542

1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,574 16 389 165 224 531 339 186 92 21 1,045 529

1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,589 17 399 166 234 548 336 181 87 21 1,076 513

1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,577 17 399 161 238 551 332 176 82 20 1,087 491

1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,575 16 411 166 245 548 328 172 78 21 1,084 491

1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,574 15 419 168 250 552 326 168 73 21 1,095 479

1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,577 15 433 176 257 555 316 167 70 21 1,108 470

1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,554 15 445 183 261 549 304 153 67 21 1,094 460

1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,179 16 363 153 210 392 221 110 57 21 785 394

See footnotes at end of table.

Page 26 [ Series 21, No. 56
Table 2. Numbers of pregnancies, live births, induced abortions, and fetal losses, by age and race of woman: United States, 1976 and

1980–96—Con.

Pregnancy outcome

and year

Age of woman

Race

Total

Under

15 years

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40 years

Total and over

15–17

years

18–19

years White

All

other

Fetal losses1 Number in thousands

1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 983 4 137 82 55 191 228 219 172 32 - - - - - -

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 982 5 140 85 55 195 226 221 165 30 773 209

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 989 5 141 86 56 202 232 221 160 28 773 216

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 993 5 139 83 56 210 240 220 153 26 773 220

1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,002 5 138 82 57 216 251 219 148 25 779 223

1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,007 5 141 82 59 220 259 216 142 23 783 223

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,011 5 140 79 61 221 271 216 137 22 788 222

1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 919 4 121 63 59 221 250 199 108 17 725 193

1988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 893 3 122 54 63 218 245 190 100 15 710 183

1987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 815 3 113 53 61 190 229 184 83 12 627 187

1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 798 3 113 51 62 194 226 174 77 10 619 180

1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 795 3 114 51 63 201 226 168 72 10 620 175

1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 773 3 114 51 64 201 220 159 66 9 603 170

1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 763 3 119 53 66 205 216 151 61 9 597 167

1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 769 3 125 55 70 213 217 146 56 9 602 167

1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 751 3 142 61 81 178 218 148 53 9 558 193

1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 746 3 149 65 84 180 214 140 51 9 555 192

1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 655 4 152 70 82 160 188 100 42 9 492 163

- - - Data not available.

1Spontaneous fetal losses from recognized pregnancies of all gestational periods as reported by women in the 1982, 1988, and 1995 National Surveys of Family Growth conducted by the National

Center for Health Statistics. The rate of fetal loss depends on the degree to which losses at very early gestations are detected.

NOTES: Due to rounding, figures may not add to totals. Figures for 1988–92 have been revised on the basis of new information on fetal loss from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth. The

revised estimates differ, therefore, from those previously published (see Technical Notes and reference 4).

Series 21, No. 56 [ Page 27
Table 3. Pregnancy, live birth, induced abortion, and fetal loss rates by age and race of woman: United States, 1976 and 1980–96

Pregnancy outcome

and year

Age of woman

Race

Total1

Under

15 years2

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40 years

and over3 Total

15–17

years

18–19

years White

All

other

All pregnancies

1996 ................ 104.7 2.8 98.7 67.8 146.4 183.3 170.7 122.5 60.4 13.4 - - - - - -

1995 ................ 105.1 3.0 102.7 71.7 150.8 182.2 168.7 120.5 58.9 12.9 97.5 137.4

1994 ................ 107.5 3.3 107.6 75.5 156.7 186.6 171.2 119.9 58.2 12.7 98.8 145.0

1993 ................ 109.8 3.3 110.4 76.8 160.6 191.1 174.0 119.4 57.3 12.2 100.4 150.8

1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111.8 3.4 112.8 77.3 165.1 194.1 176.3 118.8 56.8 11.9 102.2 153.9

1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113.0 3.4 116.5 79.8 167.2 195.7 177.0 118.1 56.2 11.1 103.4 156.2

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115.6 3.5 116.3 80.3 162.4 196.7 179.6 120.2 56.1 11.3 106.2 159.2

1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111.8 3.4 113.0 76.9 159.3 190.8 173.0 114.2 51.0 10.3 102.4 156.2

1988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110.0 3.4 109.9 74.1 158.7 186.3 169.0 110.8 48.4 9.8 100.6 154.7

1987 ................ 106.8 3.5 104.8 70.9 154.8 178.9 163.6 107.7 45.1 9.0 97.5 152.0

1986 ................ 106.7 3.6 104.7 69.8 157.1 178.2 161.6 105.0 42.4 8.5 97.9 150.6

1985 ................ 108.3 3.6 106.9 71.1 158.3 179.4 163.0 103.7 41.8 8.4 99.9 150.9

1984 ................ 107.4 3.5 105.8 70.4 154.4 177.2 160.2 101.1 40.1 8.3 99.3 149.4

1983 ................ 108.0 3.3 107.2 72.2 153.5 177.8 160.0 98.4 39.0 8.6 99.6 151.9

1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110.1 3.1 107.8 72.1 155.7 182.4 163.4 97.3 37.6 8.8 101.7 154.9

1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110.5 3.1 109.2 72.6 159.6 180.0 164.3 94.8 36.8 8.8 101.3 159.9

1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111.9 3.2 110.0 73.2 162.2 183.5 165.7 95.0 36.4 9.1 102.4 164.4

1976 ................ 102.7 3.2 101.4 69.4 148.9 166.1 150.8 82.2 35.3 9.9 92.8 161.6

Live births

1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65.3 1.2 54.4 33.8 86.0 110.4 113.1 83.9 35.3 7.1 64.3 69.5

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65.6 1.3 56.8 36.0 89.1 109.8 112.2 82.5 34.3 6.8 64.4 70.8

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66.7 1.4 58.9 37.6 91.5 111.1 113.9 81.5 33.7 6.6 64.9 74.5

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67.6 1.4 59.6 37.8 92.1 112.6 115.5 80.8 32.9 6.3 65.4 77.3

1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68.9 1.4 60.7 37.8 94.5 114.6 117.4 80.2 32.5 6.1 66.5 79.5

1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69.6 1.4 62.1 38.7 94.4 115.7 118.2 79.5 32.0 5.7 67.0 81.5

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70.9 1.4 59.9 37.5 88.6 116.5 120.2 80.8 31.7 5.6 68.3 83.2

1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69.2 1.4 57.3 36.4 84.2 113.8 117.6 77.4 29.9 5.3 66.4 82.7

1988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67.3 1.3 53.0 33.6 79.9 110.2 114.4 74.8 28.1 5.0 64.5 80.3

1987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65.8 1.3 50.6 31.7 78.5 107.9 111.6 72.1 26.3 4.6 63.3 77.9

1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65.4 1.3 50.2 30.5 79.6 107.4 109.8 70.1 24.4 4.2 63.1 76.8

1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66.3 1.2 51.0 31.0 79.6 108.3 111.0 69.1 24.0 4.1 64.1 77.3

1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65.5 1.2 50.6 31.0 77.4 106.8 108.7 67.0 22.9 4.0 63.2 77.0

1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65.7 1.1 51.4 31.8 77.4 107.8 108.5 64.9 22.0 4.0 63.4 77.9

1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67.3 1.1 52.4 32.3 79.4 111.6 111.0 64.1 21.2 4.1 64.8 80.3

1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67.3 1.1 52.2 32.0 80.0 112.2 111.5 61.4 20.0 4.0 64.8 81.1

1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68.4 1.1 53.0 32.5 82.1 115.1 112.9 61.9 19.8 4.1 65.6 83.7

1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65.0 1.2 52.8 34.1 80.5 110.3 106.2 53.6 19.0 4.5 62.2 82.0

Induced abortions

1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.9 1.1 29.2 19.0 44.9 50.7 33.6 18.2 9.9 3.2 - - - - - -

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.9 1.2 30.0 19.9 45.7 50.3 32.6 17.9 9.8 3.2 17.0 48.1

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24.1 1.3 32.2 21.4 48.8 53.0 33.1 18.4 10.0 3.2 17.9 51.1

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.4 1.4 34.3 22.5 52.0 55.8 33.9 18.9 10.2 3.2 18.9 53.5

1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.9 1.5 35.5 23.1 53.8 56.3 33.9 19.0 10.4 3.2 19.6 53.9

1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26.3 1.4 37.6 24.3 55.9 56.6 33.7 19.1 10.4 3.0 20.3 53.8

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.4 1.5 40.3 26.5 57.9 56.7 33.9 19.7 10.8 3.2 21.6 54.6

1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26.8 1.6 42.0 28.0 60.0 53.8 32.2 18.6 10.1 3.0 20.9 54.7

1988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.4 1.7 43.5 30.2 62.0 53.6 32.0 18.4 10.0 3.0 21.3 56.2

1987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26.9 1.8 41.8 29.6 59.8 52.0 31.0 18.2 9.9 2.9 21.2 55.1

1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.4 2.0 42.3 29.9 60.8 51.8 31.1 18.0 9.7 2.8 21.8 55.1

1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.0 2.0 43.5 30.6 62.0 52.0 31.1 17.9 9.7 2.9 22.7 54.9

1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.1 2.0 42.9 29.9 60.8 51.6 31.0 17.9 9.6 2.9 23.2 53.8

1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.5 1.9 43.2 30.7 59.9 50.9 31.0 17.8 9.5 3.2 23.3 55.2

1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.8 1.6 42.7 30.0 59.7 51.1 31.5 17.8 9.3 3.3 23.8 55.3

1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29.3 1.7 42.9 30.1 60.6 51.4 31.3 17.7 9.5 3.4 24.3 55.8

1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29.4 1.7 42.7 30.1 60.6 51.6 31.0 17.2 9.4 3.5 24.4 57.0

1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24.2 1.6 34.3 24.2 49.3 39.6 24.1 15.0 9.3 3.7 18.8 56.3

See footnotes at end of table.

Page 28 [ Series 21, No. 56
Table 3. Pregnancy, live birth, induced abortion, and fetal loss rates by age and race of woman: United States, 1976 and 1980–96—Con.

Pregnancy outcome

and year

Age of woman

Race

Total1

Under

15 years2

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40 years

and over3 Total

15–17

years

18–19

years White

All

other

Fetal losses4

1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.5 0.5 15.2 15.0 15.5 22.3 24.1 20.5 15.2 3.1 - - - - - -

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.5 0.5 15.9 15.9 16.0 22.1 23.9 20.1 14.8 2.9 16.1 18.5

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.7 0.6 16.5 16.5 16.4 22.4 24.2 19.9 14.5 2.8 16.1 19.3

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.8 0.5 16.5 16.5 16.5 22.8 24.6 19.7 14.1 2.7 16.1 20.0

1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.0 0.5 16.6 16.4 16.9 23.2 25.0 19.6 13.9 2.6 16.2 20.5

1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.0 0.5 16.8 16.8 16.9 23.4 25.1 19.4 13.8 2.4 16.2 20.9

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.2 0.5 16.1 16.2 15.9 23.5 25.5 19.7 13.6 2.4 16.4 21.3

1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.7 0.5 13.7 12.6 15.2 23.3 23.3 18.3 11.0 2.0 15.1 18.8

1988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.4 0.4 13.5 10.3 16.8 22.5 22.7 17.7 10.4 1.8 14.8 18.2

1987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.1 0.4 12.4 9.6 16.5 19.0 21.0 17.4 8.8 1.5 13.0 19.1

1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.9 0.4 12.3 9.3 16.7 19.0 20.7 16.9 8.2 1.4 12.9 18.7

1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.0 0.4 12.4 9.4 16.7 19.1 20.9 16.7 8.1 1.4 13.1 18.7

1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.8 0.4 12.3 9.5 16.2 18.9 20.5 16.2 7.7 1.4 12.9 18.6

1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.8 0.3 12.5 9.7 16.2 19.0 20.4 15.7 7.4 1.4 12.8 18.8

1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.1 0.3 12.7 9.8 16.7 19.7 20.9 15.5 7.1 1.4 13.1 19.3

1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.9 0.4 14.1 10.5 19.0 16.5 21.6 15.7 7.2 1.4 12.2 23.0

1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.1 0.4 14.3 10.6 19.5 16.9 21.8 15.8 7.2 1.5 12.4 23.7

1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.4 0.4 14.4 11.1 19.1 16.2 20.5 13.6 6.9 1.6 11.8 23.3

- - - Data not available.

1Rates computed by relating the number of events to women of all ages to women aged 15–44 years. 2Rates computed by relating the number of events to women under 15 years to women aged 10–14 years. 3Rates computed by relating the number of events to women aged 40 years and over to women 40–44 years. 4Spontaneous fetal losses from recognized pregnancies of all gestational periods as reported by women in the 1982, 1988, and 1995 National Surveys of Family Growth conducted by the National

Center for Health Statistics. The rate of fetal loss depends on the degree to which losses at very early gestations are detected.

NOTES: Due to rounding, figures may not add to totals. Rates for 1988–92 have been revised on the basis of new information on fetal loss from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth. The

revised estimates differ, therefore, from those previously published (see Technical Notes and reference 4).

Series 21, No. 56 [ Page 29
Table 4. Pregnancy, live birth, induced abortion, and fetal loss rates by age, race, and Hispanic origin of woman: United States,

1990–95

Pregnancy outcome

and race and Hispanic

origin and year Total1

Age of woman

Under

15 years2

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40–44

years3 Total

15–17

years

18–19

years

Non-Hispanic

White:

All pregnancies:

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86.4 1.2 71.6 46.7 110.2 139.9 147.6 112.2 54.2 11.1

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87.8 1.3 74.5 48.7 114.0 142.6 149.2 110.9 53.2 10.8

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89.7 1.3 76.9 49.9 117.3 147.1 151.9 109.8 52.0 10.3

1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91.7 1.4 79.3 50.4 121.8 150.4 154.9 109.1 51.2 9.9

1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94.0 1.4 84.7 54.1 126.9 155.2 157.7 109.0 51.1 9.2

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97.7 1.5 87.4 56.3 126.4 159.7 162.0 111.3 51.1 9.4

Live births:

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57.6 0.4 39.3 22.0 66.1 90.0 106.5 82.0 32.9 6.1

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58.3 0.5 40.4 22.8 67.4 90.9 107.9 80.7 32.1 5.9

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59.0 0.5 40.7 22.7 67.7 92.1 109.2 79.4 31.1 5.5

1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60.2 0.5 41.7 22.7 69.8 93.9 111.5 78.7 30.5 5.3

1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61.0 0.5 43.4 23.6 70.5 95.7 112.7 77.9 30.2 4.8

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.8 0.5 42.6 23.3 66.9 97.9 115.3 79.2 29.9 4.8

Induced abortions:

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.1 0.6 20.3 13.3 31.3 31.2 19.3 11.0 6.7 2.3

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.7 0.6 21.7 14.0 33.4 32.9 19.3 11.4 6.7 2.3

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.0 0.6 23.8 15.3 36.5 35.8 20.3 11.9 7.0 2.3

1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.6 0.7 25.0 15.9 38.5 37.0 20.6 12.1 7.1 2.3

1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.9 0.7 28.4 18.1 42.6 39.6 22.0 12.9 7.4 2.2

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.6 0.8 32.3 21.0 46.5 41.5 23.1 13.7 7.9 2.4

Fetal losses4

:

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.6 0.2 12.0 11.5 12.9 18.7 21.7 19.1 14.7 2.7

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.7 0.2 12.4 11.9 13.1 18.9 22.0 18.8 14.3 2.6

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.8 0.2 12.4 11.8 13.2 19.1 22.3 18.5 13.9 2.5

1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.9 0.2 12.5 11.8 13.6 19.5 22.8 18.3 13.6 2.4

1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.0 0.2 12.9 12.3 13.7 19.9 23.0 18.2 13.5 2.2

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.3 0.2 12.5 12.1 13.0 20.3 23.5 18.5 13.3 2.1

Black:

All pregnancies:

1995 ............... 153.4 9.6 184.4 137.0 258.3 302.4 213.4 137.9 62.8 15.0

1994 ............... 163.4 10.8 201.2 149.8 280.9 323.5 222.4 141.3 63.9 14.9

1993 ............... 171.7 11.0 211.7 158.0 292.4 340.3 230.4 145.5 64.9 14.9

1992 ............... 175.5 11.3 217.3 160.4 300.5 346.1 232.9 145.2 64.5 14.4

1991 ............... 177.4 11.4 221.7 164.6 299.8 347.0 231.5 144.3 63.2 14.2

1990 ............... 180.2 11.8 221.3 165.0 295.3 342.5 233.2 145.9 63.3 14.4

Live births:

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74.5 4.3 99.3 72.1 141.9 141.7 102.0 65.9 29.4 6.3

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79.0 4.7 107.7 78.6 152.9 150.3 107.0 67.5 29.5 6.2

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82.7 4.7 112.2 82.5 156.7 157.4 111.5 69.0 29.8 6.2

1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85.5 4.8 116.0 83.9 162.9 163.0 114.6 69.1 29.4 5.9

1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87.6 4.9 118.9 86.7 163.1 166.1 116.3 69.3 28.9 5.7

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89.0 5.0 116.2 84.9 157.5 165.2 118.3 70.2 28.6 5.8

Induced abortions:

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58.2 4.1 66.2 45.8 98.1 122.7 86.0 45.5 21.9 6.2

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.6 4.8 73.0 50.3 108.2 133.0 88.8 46.7 22.8 6.3

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66.2 5.0 78.3 53.6 115.4 140.8 91.0 48.7 23.5 6.3

1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66.6 5.2 79.5 54.2 116.5 139.5 89.8 48.2 23.6 6.2

1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65.9 5.1 80.5 54.9 115.7 136.4 86.3 47.1 23.0 6.2

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67.0 5.4 83.5 57.7 117.4 133.1 85.4 47.5 23.5 6.4

Fetal losses4

:

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.7 1.2 18.8 19.1 18.3 37.9 25.4 26.5 11.5 2.5

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.9 1.3 20.4 20.9 19.8 40.2 26.6 27.1 11.6 2.5

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.8 1.3 21.2 21.9 20.3 42.1 27.8 27.7 11.7 2.4

1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.4 1.3 21.8 22.3 21.1 43.6 28.5 27.8 11.5 2.3

1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.9 1.3 22.2 23.0 21.1 44.5 29.0 27.9 11.3 2.3

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24.2 1.3 21.6 22.5 20.4 44.2 29.5 28.2 11.2 2.3

See footnotes at end of table.

Page 30 [ Series 21, No. 56
Table 4. Pregnancy, live birth, induced abortion, and fetal loss rates by age, race, and Hispanic origin of woman: United States,

1990–95—Con.

Pregnancy outcome

and race and Hispanic

origin and year Total1

Age of woman

Under

15 years2

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40–44

years3 Total

15–17

years

18–19

years

Hispanic5

All pregnancies:

1995 ............... 159.6 4.4 162.8 110.0 242.7 276.5 232.7 142.3 79.9 21.3

1994 ............... 163.3 4.6 167.2 113.9 246.5 281.4 234.9 144.0 80.2 21.9

1993 ............... 165.1 4.5 166.1 110.2 249.3 281.8 235.7 145.7 80.5 21.5

1992 ............... 169.0 4.5 167.8 110.9 251.6 286.6 237.7 148.0 83.5 22.4

1991 ............... 164.8 4.2 164.6 107.0 247.6 273.8 231.1 143.7 80.5 21.3

1990 ............... 163.2 4.0 155.8 101.0 231.4 263.0 229.2 146.4 81.0 21.7

Live births:

1995 ............... 105.0 2.7 106.7 72.9 157.9 188.5 153.8 95.9 44.9 11.2

1994 ............... 105.6 2.7 107.7 74.0 158.0 188.2 153.2 95.4 44.3 11.1

1993 ............... 106.9 2.7 106.8 71.7 159.1 188.3 154.0 96.4 44.7 11.0

1992 ............... 108.5 2.6 107.1 71.4 159.7 190.6 154.4 96.8 45.6 11.4

1991 ............... 108.1 2.4 106.7 70.6 158.5 186.3 152.8 96.1 44.9 11.1

1990 ............... 107.6 2.4 100.2 65.8 147.6 180.8 152.8 98.1 45.2 11.4

Induced abortions:

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34.4 1.3 38.6 25.1 58.9 68.3 44.8 25.9 14.8 5.0

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37.3 1.4 41.7 27.8 62.5 73.5 47.8 28.2 16.0 5.8

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37.8 1.5 41.7 26.7 64.1 73.9 47.6 28.6 15.7 5.5

1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39.7 1.6 43.1 27.8 65.7 76.1 49.1 30.5 17.4 5.9

1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36.2 1.4 40.4 24.7 63.0 68.1 44.4 27.1 15.5 5.2

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35.1 1.1 39.1 24.3 59.5 63.4 42.6 27.2 15.4 5.2

Fetal losses4

:

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.3 0.4 17.5 12.0 26.0 19.7 34.1 20.5 20.2 5.1

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.3 0.4 17.7 12.2 26.0 19.6 34.0 20.4 19.9 5.0

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.5 0.4 17.6 11.8 26.2 19.6 34.1 20.7 20.1 5.0

1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.8 0.4 17.6 11.7 26.3 19.9 34.2 20.7 20.5 5.1

1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.6 0.4 17.5 11.6 26.1 19.4 33.9 20.6 20.2 5.0

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.5 0.4 16.5 10.8 24.3 18.9 33.9 21.0 20.4 5.1

1Rates computed by relating the number of events to women of all ages to women aged 15–44 years. 2Rates computed by relating the number of events to women under 15 years to women aged 10–14 years. 3Rates computed by relating the number of events to women aged 40 years and over to women aged 40–44 years. 4Spontaneous fetal losses from recognized pregnancies of all gestational periods as reported by women in the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth conducted by the National Center for Health

Statistics. The rate of fetal loss depends on the degree to which losses at very early gestations are detected.

5Includes all persons of Hispanic origin of any race.

NOTES: Due to rounding, figures may not add to totals. Rates for 1990–91 have been revised on the basis of information from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). The revised

estimates differ, therefore, from those previously published (see Technical Notes and reference 4).

Series 21, No. 56 [ Page 31
Table 5. Numbers and rates of pregnancies, live births, induced abortions, and fetal losses for teenagers, by age, race, and Hispanic origin:

United States, 1996

Pregnancy outcome

and race and Hispanic origin

Number (in thousands) Rate per 1,000 women

10–14

years

15–19 years

10–14

years

15–19 years

Total

15–17

years

18–19

years Total

15–17

years

18–19

years

All races1

All pregnancies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 893 372 521 2.8 98.7 67.8 146.4

Live births . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 492 186 306 1.2 54.4 33.8 86.0

Induced abortions. . . . . . . . . . . . 10 264 104 160 1.1 29.2 19.0 44.9

Fetal losses2

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 137 82 55 0.5 15.2 15.0 15.5

Non-Hispanic

White:

All pregnancies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 416 163 253 1.1 68.1 43.9 105.6

Live births . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 229 76 153 0.4 37.6 20.6 63.7

Induced abortions. . . . . . . . . . . . 3 117 46 71 0.5 19.1 12.5 29.4

Fetal losses2

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 70 40 30 0.2 11.4 10.8 12.4

Black:

All pregnancies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 242 106 136 8.7 177.8 128.1 254.4

Live births . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 128 55 73 3.8 94.2 66.6 136.6

Induced abortions. . . . . . . . . . . . 5 90 36 54 3.9 65.9 43.7 100.1

Fetal losses2

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 24 15 9 1.0 17.7 17.7 17.7

Hispanic3

All pregnancies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 183 74 110 4.3 157.1 105.0 235.4

Live births . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 119 48 71 2.6 101.8 69.0 151.1

Induced abortions. . . . . . . . . . . . 2 45 17 28 1.3 38.6 24.7 59.5

Fetal losses2

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 20 8 12 0.4 16.7 11.3 24.8

1Includes races other than white and black.

2Spontaneous fetal losses from recognized pregnancies of all gestational periods as reported by women in the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth conducted by the National Center for Health

Statistics. The rate of pregnancy loss depends on the degree to which losses at very early gestations are detected.

3Includes all persons of Hispanic origin of any race.

NOTE: Due to rounding, figures may not add to totals.

Page 32 [ Series 21, No. 56
Table 6. Pregnancy, live birth, and induced abortion rates by marital status and race and Hispanic origin: United States, 1980 and 1990–95

[Rates per 1,000 women aged 15–44 years in specified group]

Race and Hispanic

origin and year

Married Unmarried

All

pregnancies1

Live

birth

Induced

abortion

All

pregnancies1

Live

birth

Induced

abortion

All races

1995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113.2 83.7 8.5 95.8 45.1 39.3

1994. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113.7 83.8 9.0 100.4 46.9 41.6

1993. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117.9 86.8 9.6 100.4 45.3 43.7

1992.................... 120.5 89.0 9.7 101.4 45.2 44.9

1991.................... 122.0 89.9 10.1 102.2 45.2 45.8

1990.................... 126.3 93.2 10.6 102.3 43.8 47.7

1980.................... 128.7 97.0 12.3 88.3 29.4 52.0

White, total

1995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112.9 85.1 6.6 77.4 37.5 30.5

1994. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113.0 85.0 6.9 80.1 38.3 32.3

1993. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116.4 87.6 7.3 79.1 35.9 34.3

1992. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119.0 89.6 7.6 79.6 35.2 35.8

1991.................... 120.4 90.6 7.9 80.2 34.6 37.3

1990.................... 125.1 94.1 8.5 80.2 32.9 39.4

1980.................... 125.9 97.5 10.1 66.7 18.1 45.3

White, non-Hispanic

1995.................... 105.8 80.1 5.3 61.0 28.2 25.6

1994.................... 106.6 80.7 5.4 63.1 28.5 27.4

All other2

1995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114.8 75.1 20.2 151.9 68.1 66.1

1994. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117.8 76.2 21.9 162.7 73.4 70.2

1993.................... 126.9 81.8 23.9 166.2 74.3 72.6

1992.................... 130.5 84.8 23.8 169.0 76.1 73.3

1991.................... 132.5 85.6 25.0 171.9 78.8 72.9

1990.................... 134.4 87.4 24.7 175.0 79.7 74.8

1980.................... 149.6 93.5 29.0 176.2 75.2 79.3

Black, total

1995.................... 104.5 65.1 21.5 169.4 75.9 72.7

1994.................... 109.2 66.9 23.9 182.8 82.1 78.2

1993.................... 120.4 73.7 26.5 189.4 84.0 82.5

Hispanic3

1995.................... 149.6 113.2 14.6 171.7 95.0 58.4

1994.................... 147.0 109.3 16.7 181.7 101.2 61.1

1993.................... 155.7 116.4 17.0 176.7 95.2 63.3

1Includes pregnancies ending in fetal loss, not shown separately.

2Includes black and other races.

3Includes all persons of Hispanic origin of any race.

NOTES: Marital status is the woman’s status as of the date the pregnancy ended, rather than at the time of conception. Rates for 1990 and 1991 have been revised on the basis of new information

from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth. The revised estimates differ from those previously published (4). See Technical Notes.

Series 21, No. 56 [ Page 33
Table 7. Percent distribution of pregnancies by outcome of pregnancy, according to age, race, and Hispanic origin of woman: United States,

1995

Pregnancy outcome

and race and

Hispanic origin Total

Under

15 years

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40 years

Total and over

15–17

years

18–19

years

All races1 Percent distribution

All pregnancies.......... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Live births . . . . . . . . . . . 62.4 43.7 55.3 50.2 59.1 60.3 66.6 68.5 58.3 52.9

Induced abortions . . . . . . . 21.8 38.8 29.2 27.7 30.3 27.6 19.3 14.8 16.7 24.5

Fetal losses . . . . . . . . . . 15.7 17.4 15.5 22.1 10.6 12.1 14.1 16.7 25.1 22.6

Non-Hispanic

White:

All pregnancies.......... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Live births . . . . . . . . . . . 66.7 35.7 54.8 47.1 59.9 64.4 72.2 73.1 60.6 55.1

Induced abortions . . . . . . . 16.4 45.6 28.4 28.4 28.4 22.3 13.2 9.8 12.3 20.3

Fetal losses . . . . . . . . . . 17.0 18.6 16.8 24.5 11.7 13.4 14.7 17.0 27.0 24.6

Black:

All pregnancies.......... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Live births . . . . . . . . . . . 48.5 45.4 53.9 52.6 54.9 46.9 47.8 47.8 46.8 42.2

Induced abortions . . . . . . . 38.0 42.5 35.9 33.4 38.0 40.6 40.3 33.0 34.8 41.3

Fetal losses . . . . . . . . . . 13.5 12.0 10.2 14.0 7.1 12.6 11.9 19.2 18.4 16.6

Hispanic2

All pregnancies.......... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Live births . . . . . . . . . . . 65.8 61.0 65.5 66.3 65.0 68.2 66.1 67.4 56.2 52.6

Induced abortions . . . . . . . 21.5 28.9 23.7 22.8 24.3 24.7 19.3 18.2 18.5 23.7

Fetal losses . . . . . . . . . . 12.7 10.0 10.8 10.9 10.7 7.1 14.7 14.4 25.3 23.7

1Includes races other than white and black and origin not stated.

2Includes all persons of Hispanic origin of any race.

Page 34 [ Series 21, No. 56
Table 8. Percent of never married males and females 15–19 years of age who have had sexual intercourse, by selected age groups and

sociodemographic characteristics: United States, 1988 and 1995

Characteristic

Females Males

1988 1995 1988 1995

Percent

All teenagers 15–19 years1 . . . . . . . 51.1 49.3 60.4 **55.2

Age

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.9 24.3 32.6 27.1

16. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34.1 38.3 49.9 44.6

17. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47.6 50.8 65.6 58.4

18. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65.5 62.3 71.6 67.0

19. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79.7 74.0 85.7 84.0

15–17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37.2 38.0 50.0 ***43.1

18–19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72.6 **68.0 77.3 75.4

Age, race, and Hispanic origin

White non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . 50.4 48.5 56.8 ***49.5

15–17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34.7 35.6 44.4 ***34.8

18–19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72.7 68.0 76.8 74.7

Black non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . 60.4 59.3 80.6 80.4

15–17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50.2 48.9 76.6 75.4

18–19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77.5 77.1 87.7 89.0

Hispanic2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45.8 52.7 59.7 60.9

15–17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35.2 **49.0 57.1 49.7

18–19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67.5 59.0 63.6 **78.6

Mother’s education

0–11 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55.4 60.2 67.3 59.8

12 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49.4 47.2 65.3 **58.0

13–15 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.2 55.2 53.9 57.5

16 years or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48.5 **37.2 50.9 45.5

Family structure at age 14

Both biological/adoptive parents . . . . 44.9 42.5 57.0 **50.4

Single parent3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58.7 58.9 71.1 67.6

Parent and stepparent . . . . . . . . . . 66.2 **55.3 56.5 54.0

Nonparental/other . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72.8 64.2 91.0 80.3

** change from 1988 to 1995 is significant at the .10 level.

*** change from 1988 to 1995 is significant at the .05 level. 1Includes races other than white and black.

2Includes all persons of Hispanic origin of any race.

3Includes parent and girl/boyfriend; also includes parent and other adults.

Series 21, No. 56 [ Page 35
Table 9. Percent distribution of women 15–44 years of age, by frequency of sexual intercourse in the last 3 months, according to age,

marital status, and race and Hispanic origin: United States, 1988 and 1995

Total

Never had

sex or

no sex in

last 12 months

Sex in last

12 months

but no sex in

last 3 months

Sex in the last 3 months

Once a

month or

less

2–3 per

month

Once a

week

More than

once a

week

Total, 15–44 years Percent distribution

All races1

:

1988 ..................... 100.0 18.5 4.1 7.1 18.6 20.3 31.4

1995 ..................... 100.0 18.3 4.6 11.3 17.9 17.5 30.3

White non-Hispanic:

1988 ..................... 100.0 17.6 3.8 6.0 18.3 21.5 32.8

1995 ..................... 100.0 16.9 4.3 10.7 18.1 18.9 31.0

Black non-Hispanic:

1988 ..................... 100.0 15.9 4.7 13.3 23.6 15.6 27.0

1995 ..................... 100.0 18.4 5.6 16.1 19.1 13.4 27.5

Hispanic2

:

1988 ..................... 100.0 22.7 5.7 7.8 16.7 18.3 28.9

1995 ..................... 100.0 22.1 4.7 11.2 15.4 14.3 32.2

All races,1 by age

15–19 years:

1988 ..................... 100.0 51.1 7.4 8.2 11.9 7.7 13.8

1995 ..................... 100.0 53.5 6.9 9.0 10.7 6.7 13.2

15–17 years:

1988 ..................... 100.0 66.2 6.8 6.6 9.4 3.7 7.2

1995 ..................... 100.0 66.6 5.9 6.7 8.0 5.3 7.6

18–19 years:

1988 ..................... 100.0 29.0 8.3 10.4 15.4 13.5 23.5

1995 ..................... 100.0 33.9 8.5 12.4 14.7 8.7 21.8

20–29 years:

1988 ..................... 100.0 15.0 4.0 7.1 18.3 19.6 36.1

1995 ..................... 100.0 14.1 5.6 10.3 17.7 17.6 34.7

30–44 years:

1988 ..................... 100.0 10.5 2.9 6.9 21.0 24.9 33.7

1995 ..................... 100.0 10.8 3.5 12.7 20.1 20.4 32.6

Married, 15–44 years

All races1

:

1988 ..................... 100.0 0.5 0.6 5.3 22.3 28.5 42.8

1995 ..................... 100.0 0.9 1.4 9.5 22.2 25.4 40.5

Unmarried, 15–44 years

All races1

:

1988 ..................... 100.0 36.6 7.5 9.0 14.9 12.1 19.9

1995 ..................... 100.0 35.2 7.7 13.1 13.7 9.9 20.4

White non-Hispanic:

1988 ..................... 100.0 38.5 7.5 7.2 13.6 12.5 20.7

1995 ..................... 100.0 36.0 7.8 12.2 12.5 10.2 21.2

Black non-Hispanic:

1988 ..................... 100.0 21.8 6.4 15.1 23.6 13.3 19.9

1995 ..................... 100.0 23.9 7.3 18.8 18.6 11.9 19.5

Hispanic2

:

1995 ..................... 100.0 41.4 8.2 11.2 13.1 6.7 19.5

See footnotes at end of table.

Page 36 [ Series 21, No. 56
Table 9. Percent distribution of women 15–44 years of age, by frequency of sexual intercourse in the last 3 months, according to age,

marital status, and race and Hispanic origin: United States, 1988 and 1995—Con.

Total

Never had

sex or

no sex in

last 12 months

Sex in last

12 months

but no sex in

last 3 months

Sex in the last 3 months

Once a

month or

less

2–3 per

month

Once a

week

More than

once a

week

Unmarried, all races, by age Percent distribution

15–19 years:

1988 ..................... 100.0 52.7 7.6 8.4 12.0 7.6 11.6

1995 ..................... 100.0 55.7 7.1 9.2 10.5 6.5 11.0

20–29 years:

1988 ..................... 100.0 27.4 7.0 9.3 16.6 14.2 25.5

1995 ..................... 100.0 23.2 7.9 13.1 15.9 12.6 27.2

30–44 years:

1988 ..................... 100.0 32.1 7.7 9.3 15.7 14.0 21.2

1995 ..................... 100.0 30.6 8.2 16.4 14.2 9.6 21.1

1Includes races other than white and black.

2Includes all persons of Hispanic origin of any race.

NOTE: Sample sizes for Hispanic women were too small to provide these data for 1988 from the National Survey of Family Growth.

Table 10. Percent of females 15–19 years of age who have ever had sexual intercourse, by specified contextual characteristic measured in

the 1990 census: United States, 1995

Community characteristic

in 1990 Total1

White

non-Hispanic

Black

non-Hispanic

Median family income Percent

Under $20,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 61 68

$20,000 to 49,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 51 57

$50,000 or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 38 45

Unemployment rate

Under 5 percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 43 56

5–9 percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 57 56

10 percent and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 57 64

Percent of households on welfare

Under 3 percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 44 55

3–8 percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 50 49

9 percent and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 58 65

1Total includes races other than white and black and women of Hispanic origin, not shown separately because of insufficient sample size (for this table).

NOTE: All 3 community characteristics in this table were measured at the Block Group level, using Summary Tape Files from the 1990 census.

SOURCE: National Survey of Family Growth Contextual Data File.

Series 21, No. 56 [ Page 37
Table 11. Number of women 15–44 years of age and percent distribution by marital and cohabitation status, according to age, parity, and

race and Hispanic origin: United States, 1995

Characteristic

Number in

thousands Total

Currently

married

Unmarried

Cohabiting

Never

married

Widowed,

divorced,

separated

Percent distribution

All women1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60,201 100.0 49.3 7.0 33.4 10.3

All races

15–19 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,961 100.0 3.8 4.1 91.5 0.6

Parity 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,208 100.0 2.0 3.1 94.8 0.1

Parity 1+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 752 100.0 24.0 14.9 55.5 5.6

20–24 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,041 100.0 27.2 11.2 56.1 5.5

Parity 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,905 100.0 16.9 10.2 70.2 2.7

Parity 1+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,137 100.0 46.8 13.1 29.4 10.7

25–29 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,693 100.0 52.5 9.8 28.9 8.8

Parity 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,219 100.0 36.7 11.8 47.5 4.1

Parity 1+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,474 100.0 64.7 8.3 14.6 12.5

30–44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32,506 100.0 67.0 5.8 12.4 14.9

Parity 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,911 100.0 43.1 7.5 37.8 11.6

Parity 1+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,595 100.0 73.5 5.3 5.5 15.7

White non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . 42,522 100.0 54.3 7.0 29.4 9.3

15–19 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,962 100.0 3.6 4.6 91.0 0.8

20–24 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,062 100.0 29.2 12.8 52.7 5.3

25–29 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,694 100.0 57.3 10.8 24.4 7.5

30–44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23,803 100.0 72.5 5.0 9.5 13.0

Black non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,210 100.0 25.2 6.9 52.5 15.5

15–19 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,392 100.0 2.9 1.2 96.0 –

20–24 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,328 100.0 11.3 5.7 76.6 6.4

25–29 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,346 100.0 23.8 8.7 52.5 15.0

30–44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,144 100.0 37.6 8.5 30.1 23.8

Hispanic2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,702 100.0 47.4 8.2 32.8 11.6

15–19 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,150 100.0 6.0 6.7 87.0 0.3

20–24 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,163 100.0 37.9 11.5 45.3 5.3

25–29 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,217 100.0 55.6 8.4 25.4 10.7

30–44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,173 100.0 62.8 7.4 11.4 18.4

– Quantity zero.

1Includes races other than white and black.

2Includes all persons of Hispanic origin of any race.

NOTE: Percents may not add to 100 due to rounding.

Page 38 [ Series 21, No. 56
Table 12. Number of women 15–44 years of age and percent distribution by sexual experience, according to marital status, and by race and

Hispanic origin and age for unmarried women: United States, 1995

Characteristic

Number in

thousands Total

Never

had sex

Had sex but

not in last

12 months

Had sex

in last

12 months

Percent distribution

All women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60,201 100.0 10.6 7.5 81.9

Married . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,673 100.0 – 0.9 99.1

Unmarried

All1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30,528 100.0 21.0 13.8 65.2

White non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . 19,445 100.0 22.1 13.5 64.4

Black non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,141 100.0 11.8 11.7 76.4

Hispanic2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,524 100.0 22.6 18.4 59.1

Unmarried, 15–19 years

All1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,566 100.0 50.4 4.9 44.7

White non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,704 100.0 51.1 5.0 43.9

Black non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,355 100.0 40.7 3.9 55.4

Hispanic2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,053 100.0 47.2 5.1 47.8

Unmarried, 20–44 years

All1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21,909 100.0 9.1 17.4 73.5

White non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,699 100.0 9.6 17.1 73.3

Black non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,789 100.0 3.4 13.9 82.7

Hispanic2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,444 100.0 11.6 24.3 64.1

– Quantity zero.

1Includes races other than white and black.

2Includes all persons of Hispanic origin of any race.

NOTE: Percents may not add to 100 due to rounding.

Series 21, No. 56 [ Page 39
Table 13. Number of sexually experienced women 15–44 years of age and percent distribution by interval between first sexual intercourse

and first contraceptive method use, according to year of first intercourse and race and Hispanic origin: United States, 1995

Year of first intercourse

Number in

thousands Total

At or before

first

intercourse

Less than

3 months

later

4–12

months

later

13 months

or longer

Never used

a method

Percent distribution

All women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53,630 100.0 58.8 10.2 9.2 19.3 2.5

1970’s

All1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,338 100.0 49.0 11.4 11.0 26.1 2.5

White non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,112 100.0 54.6 12.7 10.4 21.2 1.2

Black non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,346 100.0 37.7 8.2 12.9 36.5 4.7

Hispanic2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,160 100.0 26.1 6.2 16.0 43.3 8.4

1980–84

All1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,434 100.0 60.6 10.8 8.4 18.0 2.2

White non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,425 100.0 67.7 10.9 7.2 13.1 1.1

Black non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,435 100.0 52.9 9.0 13.1 22.5 2.5

Hispanic2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,077 100.0 28.6 13.1 13.0 40.3 5.0

1985–89

All1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,962 100.0 64.6 8.9 8.9 15.5 2.1

White non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,729 100.0 71.5 9.1 6.8 11.6 1.0

Black non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,403 100.0 55.6 9.4 9.0 22.6 3.4

Hispanic2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,349 100.0 42.4 7.2 16.9 28.2 5.3

1990–95

All1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,896 100.0 76.8 7.9 5.4 6.8 3.1

White non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,829 100.0 84.0 6.1 4.2 4.2 1.5

Black non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,297 100.0 73.6 8.2 7.0 9.4 1.8

Hispanic2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,301 100.0 53.5 11.9 9.8 16.1 8.8

1Includes races other than white and black.

2Includes all persons of Hispanic origin of any race.

NOTES: Percents may not add to 100 due to rounding. ‘‘Sexually experienced’’ women are those who have ever had voluntary sexual intercourse since menarche. Twenty-three cases were excluded

from this tabulation because they had either never had voluntary intercourse or never had intercourse since menarche.

Page 40 [ Series 21, No. 56
Table 14. Number of non-Hispanic white women 15–44 years of age and percent distribution by current contraceptive status and method,

according to age at interview and parity: United States, 1988 and 1995

Age, contraceptive status, and method

All Parity 0 Parity 1+

1988 1995 1988 1995 1988 1995

Number in thousands

All women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42,575 42,522 19,113 18,512 23,462 24,009

15–19 years Percent distribution

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Percent not using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66.0 69.5 67.2 71.4 38.1 38.3

Percent using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34.0 30.5 32.8 28.6 61.9 61.7

All contraceptive users ................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Female sterilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.8 ––– * –

Male sterilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.3 ––– * –

Pill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55.6 48.9 55.8 49.7 * 44.4

Depo/Norplant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - 8.5 - - - 7.0 - - - 22.2

Male condom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34.1 35.7 36.6 36.7 * 27.9

All other users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2 6.6 * 6.6 * 5.5

20–24 years

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Percent not using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37.4 34.7 40.3 37.5 29.6 27.7

Percent using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.6 65.3 59.7 62.5 70.4 72.3

All contraceptive users ................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Female sterilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.7 3.2 – – * 10.1

Male sterilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2 1.4 * 0.8 * 2.9

Pill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68.1 56.7 74.4 63.4 53.4 42.2

Depo/Norplant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - 7.7 - - - 3.7 - - - 16.2

Male condom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.6 23.9 14.4 25.3 21.6 20.7

All other users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.4 7.2 9.2 6.9 * 7.9

25–29 years

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Percent not using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33.9 28.0 43.5 32.9 26.1 23.4

Percent using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66.1 72.0 56.5 67.1 73.9 76.6

All contraceptive users ................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Female sterilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.2 14.3 – 0.3 23.3 25.3

Male sterilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.9 5.4 * 1.9 11.5 8.2

Pill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44.6 42.5 61.4 61.7 34.1 27.2

Depo/Norplant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - 5.1 - - - 1.3 - - - 8.0

Male condom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.7 24.6 16.6 26.8 15.0 22.7

All other users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.5 8.2 19.8 7.7 16.2 8.6

30–44 years

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Percent not using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29.5 26.3 54.6 50.5 22.6 19.3

Percent using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70.5 73.7 45.4 49.5 77.4 80.7

All contraceptive users ................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Female sterilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38.9 34.7 11.7 8.1 43.0 39.5

Male sterilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.8 20.1 19.4 13.5 22.1 21.2

Pill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.4 16.1 29.3 32.5 7.4 13.1

Depo/Norplant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - 1.4 - - - 1.6 - - - 1.4

Male condom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.9 15.6 16.3 25.5 11.1 13.9

All other users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.3 11.9 23.6 18.4 16.3 10.8

– Quantity zero.

- - - Data not available.

* Fewer than 20 cases.

NOTES: Figures may not add to 100.0 due to rounding or because there were not enough cases to make stable estimates. The percent not using contraception includes women who have never had

sex, women who are pregnant, and women who are having sex but not using contraception.

Series 21, No. 56 [ Page 41
Table 15. Number of non-Hispanic black women 15–44 years of age and percent distribution by current contraceptive status and method,

according to age at interview and parity: United States, 1988 and 1995

Age, contraceptive status, and method

All Parity 0 Parity 1+

1988 1995 1988 1995 1988 1995

Number in thousands

All women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,408 8,210 2,739 3,061 4,669 5,149

15–19 years Percent distribution

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Percent not using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64.4 65.1 72.1 72.3 25.5 34.0

Percent using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35.6 34.9 27.9 27.7 74.5 66.0

All contraceptive users ................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Female sterilization .................. * ––– * –

Male sterilization ................... ––––––

Pill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75.6 32.4 69.9 37.5 85.5 *

Depo/Norplant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - 24.1 - - - * - - - 52.7

Male condom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.3 38.4 27.6 46.2 * *

All other users ..................... **** – –

20–24 years

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Percent not using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38.3 32.1 42.8 36.2 33.5 28.1

Percent using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61.7 67.9 57.2 63.8 66.5 71.9

All contraceptive users ................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Female sterilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.2 7.4 – * 17.3 12.9

Male sterilization ................... – * ––– *

Pill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70.2 41.8 78.3 51.6 62.9 33.4

Depo/Norplant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - 13.1 - - - * - - - 22.4

Male condom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.7 33.3 * 39.2 * 28.1

All other users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.0 *****

25–29 years

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Percent not using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36.5 35.5 52.1 54.2 29.9 25.2

Percent using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63.5 64.5 47.9 45.8 70.1 74.8

All contraceptive users ................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Female sterilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32.4 28.8 – * 42.2 36.6

Male sterilization ................... – * – * – *

Pill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45.8 30.4 64.1 47.4 40.5 24.7

Depo/Norplant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - 12.4 - - - * - - - 15.9

Male condom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.9 18.3 * * 7.6 15.1

All other users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.7 8.7 * * 9.7 *

30–44 years

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Percent not using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39.3 31.5 67.7 59.0 34.1 24.9

Percent using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60.7 68.5 32.3 41.0 65.9 75.1

All contraceptive users ................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Female sterilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60.5 60.9 * * 65.3 67.8

Male sterilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.8 2.6 * * * 2.5

Pill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.7 14.6 * 29.3 11.4 12.8

Depo/Norplant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . --- * --- * --- *

Male condom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.7 13.4 * 34.1 6.4 10.8

All other users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.3 6.9 * * 15.3 5.3

– Quantity zero.

- - - Data not available.

* Fewer than 20 cases.

NOTE: Figures may not add to totals due to rounding or because there were not enough cases to make stable estimates. The percent not using contraception includes women who have never had

sex, women who are pregnant, and women who are having sex but not using contraception.

Page 42 [ Series 21, No. 56
Table 16. Measures of teenage sexual activity and pregnancy for women aged 15–19 years by age: United States, 1995

Measure

15–19 years

Total 15–17 years 18–19 years

Pregnancy rate (per 1,000 women)............................. 102.7 71.7 150.8

Percent who ever had intercourse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.3 38.3 70.8

Pregnancy rate of those who have ever had intercourse (per 1,000) . . . . . . . . 200 187 213

Percent who had intercourse in the last 12 months . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46.9 33.8 66.5

Pregnancy rate for teens sexually active in the last 12 months (per 1,000) . . . . 219 212 227

Table 17. Measures of teenage sexual activity and pregnancy for women 15–19 years of age, by race and Hispanic origin: United States,

1995

Measure Total1

White

non-Hispanic

Black

non-Hispanic Hispanic2

Number of women 15–19 years of age in the sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,396 842 289 210

Weighted number in millions3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.923 5.926 1.395 1.140

Pregnancy rate ...................................... 102.7 71.6 184.4 162.8

Percent who ever had intercourse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.3 50.4 60.5 56.0

Pregnancy rate for those who have ever had intercourse. . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 142 305 291

Percent who had sex in the last 12 months . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46.9 46.0 56.6 51.8

Pregnancy rate for those who had intercourse in the last 12 months . . . . . 219 156 326 314

1Includes races other than white and black.

2Includes all persons of Hispanic origin of any race.

3Estimated from the National Survey of Family Growth.

Table 18. Number of women 15–19 years of age, and measures of sexual activity, pregnancy, and births for women aged 15–19 years:

United States 1982, 1988, 1990, and 1995

[Rates per 1,000 women aged 15–19 years in specified group]

Measure 1982 1988 1990 1995

1. Number of women aged 15–19 (millions)1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.809 9.029 8.709 8.799

2. Number of births to women aged 15–19. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513,758 478,353 521,826 499,873

3. Number of births to unmarried women aged 15–19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260,626 312,499 349,970 375,738

4. Percent ever had sexual intercourse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46.9 52.6 54.7 51.3

5. Number of sexually experienced women aged 15–19 (millions) . . . . . . . . . . 4.600 4.749 4.764 4.514

6. Pregnancy rate, all teens ................................. 107.8 109.9 116.3 102.7

7. Number of pregnancies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,058,000 993,000 1,013,000 904,000

8. Number of abortions .................................... 419,000 393,000 351,000 264,000

9. Percent of pregnancies to women aged 15–19 that ended in abortion . . . . . . 40 40 35 29

10. Percent of pregnancies to women aged 15–19 that ended in

nonmarital births . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 31 35 42

1U. S. Bureau of the Census, various reports.

NOTE: Data on sexual experience rates and the number of sexually experienced teenagers are based on small samples from the NSFG (lines 4 and 5 above). Therefore, small changes in either

direction of 4 percent or 100,000 women should be interpreted with caution. Information on the proportion of teenagers who have had sexual intercourse in all years is based on tabulations from the

National Surveys of Family Growth.

Series 21, No. 56 [ Page 43
Table 19. Selected indicators of sexual activity and condom use among never-married males aged 15–19 years from the National Surveys of

Adolescent Males, 1988 and 1995

Indicator

Sample

n

Total

15–19 years1

Non-Hispanic

Hispanic

male2

White

male

Black

male

1. Percent who ever had intercourse with a female:

1988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,874 60.4 56.8 80.6 59.7

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,708 **55.2 **49.5 80.4 60.9

2. Percent who had intercourse in the last 3 months:

1988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,869 43.2 40.8 59.6 40.9

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,705 **37.8 **32.2 59.2 43.9

3. Percent who used a condom at last intercourse:

1988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,229 56.9 54.4 65.5 53.0

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 943 **67.0 **66.8 **73.9 58.2

4. Percent who always used a condom in the last 12 months:

1988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,131 33.1 32.3 36.9 34.1

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 892 **45.0 **47.9 **47.2 30.1

** Change from 1988 to 1995 is significant at the 10 percent level or better. 1Includes races other than white and black.

2Includes all persons of Hispanic origin of any race.

SOURCE: References 29 and 40.

Page 44 [ Series 21, No. 56
Appendix

Technical Notes

Sources of Data

Live births—Beginning in 1985 all live

birth data are based on 100 percent of

all births registered in the United States.

Birth data for 1976–84 are based on

100 percent of births in selected States

and on a 50-percent sample of births in

all other States (9–12). Birth data are

reported to the National Center for

Health Statistics (NCHS) through the

Vital Statistics Cooperative Program

(VSCP).

Induced abortions—Abortion data

shown in this report are national

estimates compiled by The Alan

Guttmacher Institute (AGI) from their

surveys of all known abortion providers.

The National Center for Chronic

Disease Prevention and Health

Promotion (NCCDPHP) of the Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention

(CDC) also compiles abortion data

mainly from State health agencies. The

numbers of abortions published by

NCCDPHP tend to be lower than the

numbers published by AGI, which are

obtained by direct surveys of abortion

providers (8, 13–18, 57–61). For

example, the total number of abortions

reported by CDC was about 14 percent

lower in 1988 and about 12 percent

lower in 1996 than reported by AGI

(13,14,16,18).

Estimates of the number of

abortions performed in the United States

in 1989, 1990, and 1993–94 were made

by interpolations between AGI’s 1988

and 1991 totals and between AGI’s

1992 and 1995 totals, because AGI did

not conduct surveys in 1989–90 and

1993–94.

The NCCDPHP publishes the

number of abortions according to

women’s characteristics, including age,

race, Hispanic origin, and marital status.

These data were obtained from varying

numbers of States, ranging from 21

States and New York City for the

cross-tabulation of marital status by

ethnicity to 44 States and New York

City for age in 1996 (18). States were

excluded for the calculation of a

particular characteristic if that

characteristic was unknown for more

than 15 percent of the abortions. The

AGI used these data to calculate percent

distributions, with adjustments to

remove the influence of year-to-year

changes in the States that report to

CDC, changes in the definitions of

items, and changes in the proportion of

missing data (13). The adjusted percent

distributions for these reporting areas

were applied to the U.S. totals compiled

by AGI. This means that the areas with

data were considered representative of

the country as a whole.

The numbers of abortions by

marital status differ from those

published previously (4) because

separated women have been included

with married women, whereas

previously they were treated as

unmarried. All Hispanic women are

assumed to be white since the

tabulations provided by the CDC do not

show the race of Hispanic women

having abortions; in 1997, 97 percent of

Hispanic women who gave birth were

reported as white (12).

Fetal losses—Information on fetal

losses is based on the 1982, 1988, and

1995 National Surveys of Family

Growth (NSFG), conducted by NCHS

(19–21). In this report, the proportion of

pregnancies (excluding induced

abortions) ending in fetal loss in the 5

years preceding each survey are used

(20,21). Fetal losses for years prior to

1982 were based on the 1982 NSFG. To

increase the reliability of the estimates

by age, race, and Hispanic origin, the

proportions of pregnancies ending in

fetal loss in the 1982 and 1988 surveys

were averaged and used for 1982–87.

Similarly, the proportions of pregnancies

ending in fetal loss in the 1988 and

1995 surveys were averaged and used

for 1988–89. Rates shown in this report

for 1988 and 1989 therefore differ from

those published earlier; the previously

published estimates were based on

averages of the 1982 and 1988 NSFG

(4). Because sample sizes in the 1995

NSFG were much larger than in earlier

surveys, the proportion of pregnancies

ending in fetal loss in that survey were

used for 1990–96. Rates shown in this

report for 1990–92 differ therefore from

those published earlier, because fetal

loss estimates previously published were

based on averages of the 1982 and 1988

NSFG (4).

The proportion of pregnancies

ending in fetal loss increased somewhat

for all groups between the 1988 and

1995 surveys. It is believed that the

increased proportion of fetal losses

represents better and more complete

reporting of fetal losses rather than an

actual increase in the likelihood of a

fetal loss. Some of this increase may be

associated with the growth in the use of

home pregnancy testing kits and other

means of early pregnancy detection.

The NSFG data on fetal losses,

rather than vital statistics reports of fetal

losses, have been used in this report

because vital statistics data are generally

limited to losses occurring at gestations

of 20 weeks or more, whereas NSFG

data include all gestations. The vast

majority of fetal losses occur early in

pregnancy before the reporting

requirements for fetal losses are in effect

(22). Even fetal losses of 20 weeks or

more are underreported in vital statistics

data.

Other studies have used a formula

to estimate the numbers of fetal losses

(8, 17). For example, the AGI estimates

of fetal losses are the sum of 20 percent

of live births and 10 percent of induced

abortions for each age, race, and

Hispanic origin group. In contrast, the

estimates in the NCHS series of reports

incorporate actual reports of pregnancy

losses which vary by age, race, and

Hispanic origin (table 7) (1–4).

Frequency data on the numbers of

pregnancies by outcome by age, race,

and Hispanic origin, and the numbers of

pregnancies by marital status, race, and

Hispanic origin are shown in tables I

and II.

Population Denominators

The numbers of women by age,

race, and Hispanic origin used to

compute rates for 1981–89 are revised

estimates that are consistent with 1990

census levels. These revised populations

have been published in the U.S. Bureau

of the Census reports (24). Populations

used to compute rates for 1990–96 have

Series 21, No. 56 [ Page 45
been published by the Bureau of the

Census (24,25,62–66).

Populations by marital status are

those prepared by the Division of Vital

Statistics, NCHS, to produce birth rates

by marital status (10–12, 67). These

population figures are based on annual

reports of the population by marital

status published by the Bureau of the

Census (68–74) adjusted to annual

population estimates as of July 1

(24,25,62–66).

Rates by marital status are shown

for all black women because the

necessary populations by marital status

are not available for non-Hispanic black

women. However, because 95 percent of

black women in the childbearing ages

are non-Hispanic, the differences in the

statistics for the two groups are minimal

(25).

Race and Hispanic Origin

For births, race and Hispanic origin

of the mother are reported independently

on the birth certificate. Birth data in this

report are tabulated by race of mother

for 1980–96; data for 1976–79 are

tabulated by race of child. Details of the

differences in tabulation procedures are

described elsewhere (9). Beginning in

1993, all States have reported Hispanic

origin of the mother on the birth

certificate. Previously, in 1990, all States

except New Hampshire and Oklahoma

reported Hispanic origin; in 1991 and

1992, all States except New Hampshire

reported Hispanic origin. In calculating

rates, it is assumed that there were no

Hispanic births in New Hampshire in

1990–92. Rates for 1990 by Hispanic

origin include an estimate for Hispanic

births to Oklahoma residents, which

assumes proportionately the same level

Table I. Estimated number of pregnancies by outcome of pregnancy by age, race, and Hispanic origin of woman: United States, 1995

[Numbers in thousands]

Pregnancy outcome and race

and Hispanic origin Total1

Under

15 years

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40 years

Total and over

15–17

years

18–19

years

Non-Hispanic

White non-Hispanic:

All pregnancies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,651 8 427 170 258 838 968 879 446 85

Live births . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,435 3 234 80 154 539 699 643 270 47

Induced abortions. . . . . . . . . . . . 597 4 121 48 73 187 127 87 55 17

Fetal losses1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 619 1 72 42 30 112 143 150 121 21

Black non-Hispanic:

All pregnancies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,222 13 245 111 134 385 274 197 89 18

Live births . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 593 6 132 58 74 181 131 94 42 8

Induced abortions. . . . . . . . . . . . 464 5 88 37 51 156 110 65 31 8

Fetal losses1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 2 25 15 10 48 33 38 16 3

Hispanic2

All pregnancies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,034 5 181 73 107 305 270 171 84 18

Live births . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 680 3 118 49 70 208 178 115 47 10

Induced abortions. . . . . . . . . . . . 223 2 43 17 26 75 52 31 15 4

Fetal losses2

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 1 19 8 11 22 40 25 21 4

1Spontaneous fetal losses from recognized pregnancies of all gestational periods as reported by women in the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth conducted by the National Center for Health

Statistics. The rate of pregnancy loss depends on the degree to which losses at very early gestations are detected.

2Includes all persons of Hispanic origin of any race.

NOTES: Due to rounding, figures may not add to totals. Data for 1990 and 1991 have been revised based on new estimates of fetal losses from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth. See

text and Technical Notes.

Table II. Estimated number of pregnancies by outcome of pregnancy, marital status, and race and Hispanic origin of woman:

United States, 1995

[Numbers in thousands]

Pregnancy outcome

and race/Hispanic origin

Married Unmarried

All

pregnancies

Live

birth

Induced

abortion

Fetal

loss1

All

pregnancies

Live

birth

Induced

abortion

Fetal

loss 1

All races2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,578 2,646 269 664 2,666 1,254 1,095 318

White, total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,071 2,314 180 577 1,621 785 640 196

White, non-Hispanic. . . . . . . . . . . . 2,534 1,919 128 488 1,117 516 469 131

Black, total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292 182 60 50 941 421 404 116

Hispanic3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532 402 52 78 502 278 171 54

1Spontaneous fetal losses from recognized pregnancies of all gestational periods as reported by women in the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth, conducted by the National Center for Health

Statistics.

2Includes races other than white and black.

3Includes all persons of Hispanic origin of any race.

NOTE: Figures shown refer to the woman’s marital status when the pregnancy ended; see text and Technical Notes. Due to rounding figures may not add to totals.

Page 46 [ Series 21, No. 56
of Hispanic births by age in 1990 as

were reported in 1991, when this

information became available (75).

Births for white non-Hispanic

women in 1991 and 1992 include all

white births in New Hampshire, and

births for black non-Hispanic women

include all black births in New

Hampshire. In computing rates for all

years beginning in 1990, births for white

and black non-Hispanic women also

include all white and black births with

origin not stated in the total reporting

area (1 to 1.5 percent annually) (75).

Interpretation of data by race and

Hispanic origin—Differences by race

and Hispanic origin in pregnancy rates

and related factors may be associated

with individual and community-level

differences in socioeconomic status,

including unemployment, income, and

health insurance coverage. Some studies

suggest that the greater marital

instability found among black couples is

a result of the economic difficulties that

many black couples have (45). For

example, the black male unemployment

rate in 1995 was 10.6 percent, more than

double the rate of white males

(4.9 percent). Median income for both

black and Hispanic families was just

under $25,000 in 1994, compared with

about $41,000 for white families—a gap

of more than 60 percent (76). More than

one-third of Hispanic persons and

22 percent of black persons had no

health insurance coverage in 1998,

compared with 12 percent of

non-Hispanic white persons (77).

Lifetime Pregnancies, Live

Births, and Abortions per

Woman

The estimates of the number of

lifetime pregnancies, live births, and

induced abortions per woman shown in

table B were computed by summing the

1990 and 1995 age-specific rates for

each outcome, each multiplied by 5, and

dividing the result by 1,000. The figure

for live births per woman, therefore, is

equivalent to the total fertility rate

(TFR), a hypothetical measure that

indicates how many births a woman

would have if she experienced

throughout her childbearing years the set

of age-specific birth rates observed in a

given calendar year, 1990 and 1995 in

this report (9,12). Similarly, the total

pregnancy rate (TPR) for 1995 for

example is the number of pregnancies a

woman would have if the 1995

pregnancy rates continued through her

lifetime; the total abortion rate (TAR) is

the number of abortions a woman would

have if the 1995 abortion rates by age

continued. The TPR then, is the sum of

the TFR, the TAR, and the TFLR (total

fetal loss rate). The TFLR is not shown

separately in this report.

Age Data from the NSFG

Data on age for respondents in the

1988 and 1995 NSFG are based on the

woman’s age as of the ‘‘central’’ date

for each cycle of the NSFG—that is, the

expected average date of the interview.

Tabulations from the 1988 and 1995

NSFG in this report (except data for

teenagers in tables 8, 9, 12, and 16–18

and figure 16) show data by age based

on the ‘‘central’’ date, which are the

estimated midpoints of each

interviewing period (21). The central

dates were March 15 for the 1988

NSFG and April 1 for the 1995 NSFG.

Data shown in tables 8, 9, 12, and

16–18 and figure 16, relating to

proportions of sexually experienced

teenagers, are based on the exact age of

the woman at the time of her interview.

The proportions of teenagers who have

ever had sexual intercourse, based on

age at interview and age as of the

central date, are shown in table III. It is

evident that the differences are small

and the trends are identical. Although

the differences are small, they can affect

the interpretation of trends in teenage

pregnancy. Tabulating the data on

teenage sexual experience by age at

interview rather than age at the central

date helps to ensure comparability with

other reports specifically for teenagers

from NCHS (40), as well as other

publications on teenage pregnancy,

which incorporate data from NSFG (52).

NSFG Contextual Data File

The contextual data file is a

compilation of neighborhood

characteristics from the 1990 census and

other data sources. These characteristics

of the neighborhood are attached or

linked to the characteristics of the

woman who is interviewed so that the

effects of the communities in which

women live can be measured. The

geographic unit used in this report is

the block group. For the first time in the

1990 census, all areas in the U.S. were

block-numbered. A census block is a

small, usually compact area, bounded by

streets and other prominent physical

features as well as certain legal

boundaries. A block group is a cluster of

census blocks within a census tract. For

the 1990 census, block groups averaged

452 housing units, or 1,100 people. A

typical census tract contains 4 or 5

block groups. Researchers can apply to

use this contextual data file by

contacting the NSFG staff at NCHS.

Table III. Percent of teenage females 15–19

years who have ever had sexual

intercourse, according to 2 measures of

age from the National Survey of Family

Growth: United States, 1982, 1988, 1990,

and 1995

Measure of age 1982 1988 1990 1995

Age at ‘‘central’’

date . . . . . . . . - - - 52.9 - - - 50.4

Age at

interview . . . . 46.9 52.6 54.7 51.3

- - - Data not available.

NOTE: Age at central date is not available in 1982 or 1990.

Series 21, No. 56 [ Page 47
Vital and Health Statistics

series descriptions

SERIES 1. Programs and Collection Procedures—These reports

describe the data collection programs of the National Center

for Health Statistics. They include descriptions of the methods

used to collect and process the data, definitions, and other

material necessary for understanding the data.

SERIES 2. Data Evaluation and Methods Research—These reports are

studies of new statistical methods and include analytical

techniques, objective evaluations of reliability of collected data,

and contributions to statistical theory. These studies also

include experimental tests of new survey methods and

comparisons of U.S. methodology with those of other

countries.

SERIES 3. Analytical and Epidemiological Studies—These reports

present analytical or interpretive studies based on vital and

health statistics. These reports carry the analyses further than

the expository types of reports in the other series.

SERIES 4. Documents and Committee Reports—These are final

reports of major committees concerned with vital and health

statistics and documents such as recommended model vital

registration laws and revised birth and death certificates.

SERIES 5. International Vital and Health Statistics Reports—These

reports are analytical or descriptive reports that compare U.S.

vital and health statistics with those of other countries or

present other international data of relevance to the health

statistics system of the United States.

SERIES 6. Cognition and Survey Measurement—These reports are

from the National Laboratory for Collaborative Research in

Cognition and Survey Measurement. They use methods of

cognitive science to design, evaluate, and test survey

instruments.

SERIES 10. Data From the National Health Interview Survey—These

reports contain statistics on illness; unintentional injuries;

disability; use of hospital, medical, and other health services;

and a wide range of special current health topics covering

many aspects of health behaviors, health status, and health

care utilization. They are based on data collected in a

continuing national household interview survey.

SERIES 11. Data From the National Health Examination Survey, the

National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, and

the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey—

Data from direct examination, testing, and measurement on

representative samples of the civilian noninstitutionalized

population provide the basis for (1) medically defined total

prevalence of specific diseases or conditions in the United

States and the distributions of the population with respect to

physical, physiological, and psychological characteristics, and

(2) analyses of trends and relationships among various

measurements and between survey periods.

SERIES 12. Data From the Institutionalized Population Surveys—

Discontinued in 1975. Reports from these surveys are

included in Series 13.

SERIES 13. Data From the National Health Care Survey—These reports

contain statistics on health resources and the public’s use of

health care resources including ambulatory, hospital, and longterm care services based on data collected directly from

health care providers and provider records.

SERIES 14. Data on Health Resources: Manpower and Facilities—

Discontinued in 1990. Reports on the numbers, geographic

distribution, and characteristics of health resources are now

included in Series 13.

SERIES 15. Data From Special Surveys—These reports contain statistics

on health and health-related topics collected in special

surveys that are not part of the continuing data systems of the

National Center for Health Statistics.

SERIES 16. Compilations of Advance Data From Vital and Health

Statistics—Advance Data Reports provide early release of

information from the National Center for Health Statistics’

health and demographic surveys. They are compiled in the

order in which they are published. Some of these releases

may be followed by detailed reports in Series 10–13.

SERIES 20. Data on Mortality—These reports contain statistics on

mortality that are not included in regular, annual, or monthly

reports. Special analyses by cause of death, age, other

demographic variables, and geographic and trend analyses

are included.

SERIES 21. Data on Natality, Marriage, and Divorce—These reports

contain statistics on natality, marriage, and divorce that are

not included in regular, annual, or monthly reports. Special

analyses by health and demographic variables and

geographic and trend analyses are included.

SERIES 22. Data From the National Mortality and Natality Surveys—

Discontinued in 1975. Reports from these sample surveys,

based on vital records, are now published in Series 20 or 21.

SERIES 23. Data From the National Survey of Family Growth—These

reports contain statistics on factors that affect birth rates,

including contraception, infertility, cohabitation, marriage,

divorce, and remarriage; adoption; use of medical care for

family planning and infertility; and related maternal and infant

health topics. These statistics are based on national surveys

of women of childbearing age.

SERIES 24. Compilations of Data on Natality, Mortality, Marriage,

Divorce, and Induced Terminations of Pregnancy—

These include advance reports of births, deaths, marriages,

and divorces based on final data from the National Vital

Statistics System that were published as supplements to the

Monthly Vital Statistics Report (MVSR). These reports provide

highlights and summaries of detailed data subsequently

published in Vital Statistics of the United States. Other

supplements to the MVSR published here provide selected

findings based on final data from the National Vital Statistics

System and may be followed by detailed reports in Series 20

or 21.

For answers to questions about this report or for a list of reports published in

these series, contact:

Data Dissemination Branch

National Center for Health Statistics

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

6525 Belcrest Road, Room 1064

Hyattsville, MD 20782-2003

(301) 458–4636

E-mail: nchsquery@cdc.gov

Internet: www.cdc.gov/nchs/
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