Pregnancy rate drops for U.S. women under age 25

Pregnancy rates for women under age 25, including teenagers, in the United States declined in 2004 compared to 1990, according to a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The report says nearly 38 percent of pregnancies in 2004 were to women under age 25, down from nearly 43 percent in 1990. The proportion of pregnancies among teens under age 20 dropped from 15 percent in 1990 to 12 percent in 2004.

The report, "Estimated Pregnancy Rates by Outcome for the United States, 1990-2004," prepared by CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, shows there were almost 6.4 million pregnancies in 2004 among women of all ages, about 6 percent fewer than the nearly 6.8 million in 1990. The 2004 total included 4.11 million live births, 1.22 million induced abortions, and 1.06 million fetal losses. In 1990, there were 4.16 million live births, 1.61 million induced abortions, and 1.02 million fetal losses.

"This latest pregnancy outcome report finds that there was little change in births and fetal loss numbers between 1990 and 2004. However, abortions fell 24 percent over this time period," said Stephanie Ventura, head of the Reproductive Statistics Branch at CDC/NCHS.

Other findings of the report:

Nearly half (45 percent) of the 6.4 million pregnancies in 2004 occurred among unmarried women. Pregnancy totals among unmarried women increased from over 2.7 million in 1990 to over 2.8 million in 2004, whereas pregnancy totals among married women declined from 4.1 million in 1990 to 3.5 million in 2004.

The average U.S. woman is expected to have 3.2 pregnancies in her lifetime at current pregnancy rates; black and Hispanic women are expected to have 4.2 pregnancies each, compared with 2.7 for non-Hispanic white women.

Three out of four pregnancies among married women (75 percent) ended in a live birth in 2004, while 19 percent ended in fetal loss, and 6 percent ended in abortion. For unmarried women, slightly over half of pregnancies (51 percent) ended in live birth, an increase from 43 percent in 1990. Thirty-five percent of these pregnancies ended in abortion and 13 percent ended in fetal loss.

More than two-thirds of pregnancies for non-Hispanic white (69 percent) and Hispanic women (67 percent) and half of pregnancies to non-Hispanic black women ended in live birth.

More than a third (37 percent) of pregnancies for black women ended in abortion compared with 12 percent for non-Hispanic white women and 19 percent for Hispanic women.

(Source: National Center for Health Statistics: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: April 2008)