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Teenage Fertility Rate
The Teenage Fertility Rate is the birth rate for women 15 to 19 years of age.
Calculation of the teenage fertility rate is identical to the general fertility
rate except that it uses data for women 15 to 19 years of age.
In 1998, for example, there were 6,680 births to Arkansas women 15 to 19 years
of age. There were an estimated 94,528 women of that age resident in the state
that year. Therefore, the Teenage Fertility Rate = (6,680 / 94,528) X 1,000 =
70.7 live births per 1,000 women 15-19 years of age. The comparable rate for
the nation as a whole was 51.1 in 1998. As with the general fertility rate,
the calculation excludes all induced abortions, fetal deaths, and spontaneous
abortions.
The average teenage fertility rate for the period of 1994 through 1998 was 73.7.
Teenage fertility rates are highest in eastern Arkansas in the Mississippi Delta
region. Phillips County had the highest average fertility rate for women 15-19
years of age at 138.3, while Faulkner County had the lowest at 35.4. Health
Management Area 9 in the Delta region had the highest average teen fertility
rate at 112.5, as well as the highest rate for 1998 at 105.7. The lowest
average rate, 58.6, was in Area 3, followed by Area 4 at 61.2.
Both the Arkansas and the U.S. teenage fertility rates rose consistently in the
late '80's, but began to decline in the early '90's. Since 1991, the national
rate has continued to decline by a total of 18 percent. During this same time
period, however, the Arkansas teenage fertility rate has been up and down.
The 1998 rate showed another decline from 1997, falling from 72.8 to 70.7.
As with the general fertility rate, the teenage fertility rate differs
significantly by race. The teenage fertility rate for White teens for the
1994 - 1998 period was 63.6, compared to 107.1 for Black teens.
Similarities between the state's general fertility rate and the teenage
fertility rate are generally to be expected, since births to Arkansas women
aged 15 through 19 typically constitute almost one-fifth of all resident births.
Moreover, the same social and economic factors which affect the general
fertility rate may be assumed to be reflected in the teen fertility rate, as
well. However, while the general fertility rate showed a very slight increase
from 67.3 to 67.5 from 1997 to 1998, the teenage fertility rate showed a
significant decrease from 72.8 to 70.7.
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