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TEEN BIRTHS
Description Of Indicator
This indicator reports the percent of total annual births occurring among females ages 19 years and under and the teen birth rate, which is a calculation of annual teen births per 1,000 females ages 15 to 19 years per year.
Why is this indicator important?
Giving birth as a teen can have profoundly negative consequences for both the teen parents and the infant. Teen births also have negative consequences for society. Teen mothers are less likely to complete high school or college. They are more likely to require public assistance and live in poverty than their peers who are not mothers.1
Infants born to teen mothers are at greater risk for low birth weight, preterm birth and death in infancy. These infants have a lower probability of obtaining the emotional and financial resources they need throughout childhood to develop into independent, productive, well-adjusted adults.2 Teen birth rates have declined significantly since 1991, representing an estimated annual U.S. taxpayer savings of $4.4 billion in 2015 alone.3 However, teen births still cost taxpayers an estimated $1.9 billion in 2015. For California, the estimated taxpayer costs were $159 million in 2015 and for Orange County, $8.96 million in 2015 (societal costs are estimated to be even higher).
Findings
• In 2017, 2.9% (1,102) of all Orange County births were to teen females ages 19 years and younger, a 58.6% decrease from 7.0% (3,007) in 2008. Overall, total births decreased 10.1% from 42,456 in 2008 to 38,173 births in 2017.
• The teen birth rate in Orange County in 2017 was 9.9 births per 1,000 females ages 15 to 19, a decrease of 64.3% from 27.7 births per 1,000 in 2008.
• At 9.9 births per 1,000 teen females, Orange County has a lower teen birth rate than California (15.1)4 and the United States (18.8).5
• When assessed by race/ethnicity, Hispanic teens had the highest birth rate (18.8 births per 1,000 teen females), followed by Black (12.0), White (2.7) and Asian (0.9) teens.
• Teen birth rates have declined for all races and ethnicities, with Hispanic teens experiencing the most dramatic drop (67.7% in 10 years).
Birth Rate per 1,000 Females 15 to 19 Years of Age Orange
Birth Rate per 1,000 Females 15 to 19 Years of Age, by Race/Ethnicity, 2008
• Hispanic
• Black
• White
Birth Rates per 1,000 Females 15 to 19 Years of Age, by Community of Residence, 2013 to
