Fewer U.S. teens are getting pregnant: study

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fewer U.S. teens got pregnant in 2004 but more women in their 20s had out-of-wedlock pregnancies, according to new federal statistics released on Monday.

The latest look at U.S. pregnancy trends also shows more women are keeping their babies even if they are not married, with the exception of black women.

While 45 percent of all pregnancies are among women who are not married, the typical "unwed mother" is no longer a teenager but in fact an older woman, said Stephanie Ventura of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.

"More of them are likely to have the baby rather than having an abortion compared to 1990," Ventura, who led the study, said in a telephone interview.

The report found that nearly 38 percent of pregnancies in 2004 were to women under the age of 25, which is down from nearly 43 percent in 1990.

Just 12 percent of all pregnancies were to teenagers, compared to 15 percent in 1990.

Overall, there were almost 6.4 million pregnancies in 2004 among U.S. women of all ages, down 6 percent from 1990.

Out of these pregnancies, 4.11 million babies were born. There were 1.22 million abortions and 1.06 million stillbirths and miscarriages. That means 64 percent of all pregnancies resulted in a live birth.

In 2006, 4.3 million live babies were born but data is not yet complete on abortions.

Ventura said it takes years to gather this kind of data.

BETTER CONTRACEPTION

She said other studies have shed light on why pregnancy rates are going down among teens.

"There have been some changes in behavioral and contraceptive use among teenagers who are sexually active," Ventura said.

The report said pregnancy rates fell the most among sexually experienced teens, suggesting that better use of contraception may be responsible

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