The study said the birth rate for mothers 15-19 declined 3 percent to 49.6 births per 1,000 women in 1999. This rate has fallen 20 percent since 1991 and is now at a record low. Sexual activity has leveled off, demographer Stephanie Ventura said, and teens who are sexually active are more likely to use contraception. The 1999 rate broke a record of 50.2 births per 1,000 teen-age women set in 1986. The Amarillo Area Foundation's Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative works with local organizations to facilitate discussions between teens and parents.
Potter County is down from last year, but it is still fairly high.
If you look at the last four years, there hasn't been a steady decline, but rather up and down, so I don't know if we have a downward trend. Talking about the high number of teen pregnancies will eventually help curb the problem, said Claudia Stravato, chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle. I think our community now has the opportunity to join the rest of the country in addressing the problem of teen pregnancies. According to the Texas Health Department, the adolescent pregnancy rate for females 13-17 was 35.4 percent in 1999, the latest year for which figures are available.