Colorado’s teen birth rate has plunged in recent years, local and federal officials said in reports Tuesday, with the state getting a special shout-out from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for cutting “repeat” teen pregnancies.
The number of adolescent births fell 34 percent from 2008 to 2012. Experts consider the success a major public health win for Colorado, lowering costs and improving teen lives. Teenagers had 4,122 babies in Colorado last year, down from 6,079 four years before. The number of second babies for teen moms dropped 45 percent, to 653 births, the state health department said.
Colorado has had success getting long-term, effective birth control to teenagers after they give birth, a key contributor to the teen birth rate decline, according to the CDC.
“We’ve made this a huge priority, and it’s exciting to see it paying off,” said Dr. Stephanie Teal, an ob-gyn who works on teen pregnancy issues at University of Colorado Health and Children’s Hospital Colorado.