A report yesterday from the National Center for Health Statistics also found a surprising decline in multiple births of three or more and an increase in the number of women having cesarean sections. The study said the birthrate for mothers 15 to 19 declined 3 percent, to 49.6 births per 1,000 females in 1999. The rate has fallen 20 percent since 1991. The 1999 rate broke a record low of 50.2 births per 1,000 teenage females set in 1986. The records go back to 1940.
Every state has a teen pregnancy-prevention program. . . .
The message has been transmitted. Ventura also noted that the teen birthrate declined during a strong economy. That may have encouraged teens to avoid pregnancy in order to pursue education and jobs, she said. On another topic, the study showed that multiple births of three or more had begun to decline. The number of triplets-plus births had been growing steadily, doubling in the 1990s, before reversing course in 1999, the center reported.