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Births to Teen Mothers

Births to Lincoln teen mothers is the same as the national rate

Teenage girls who give birth are more likely to drop out of high school and more likely to be in poverty.¹¹ Research suggests that children born to teen mothers are more likely to be low birth weight, have long-term health problems, and have worse educational outcomes. These outcomes are likely the result of associated socio-economic status and family background rather than the age of the mother.¹⁰

• Lincoln’s average rate of births to teen mothers mirrors the national rate. Both the U.S and Lincoln have had on average 21 births per 100 women aged 15 to 19 years of age since 2005.
• Both Lincoln and national rates of births to teen mothers have declined in the past decade.
• In Lincoln, the rate of births to teen mothers (aged 15 to 19 years of age) has fluctuated, some years much higher than the national rate and other years much lower.

Footnotes

10.  Cutland, C., Lackritz, E., Mallett-Moore, T., Bardaji, A., Chandrasekaran, R., Lahariya, C., Imran Nisar, M., Tapia, M., Pathirana, J., Kochhar, S. & Muñoz, F. (2017). Low birth weight: Case definition & guidelines for data collection, analysis, and presentation of maternal immunization safety data. Vaccine, 35(48) 6492-6500. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.01.049

11.  Hoffman, S. D., & Maynard, R. A. (Eds.). (2008). Kids having kids: Economic costs and social consequences of teen pregnancy (2nd ed.). Urban Institute Press.