Kentucky ranks 25th in the nation for teen pregnancy and 14th for birth rate (Alan Guttmacher Institute, 2000). Kentucky’s teen pregnancy rate for girls 15-19 was 76 in 2000, as compared to 84 in the United States (National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, 2000). According to the Kentucky Department for Public Health (2004), the Kentucky birth rate for people under the age of 18 was 9.4/1000.
The birth rate for people under the age of 18 for each of the area development districts (2004):
Purchase 9.4/1000 Pennyrile 8.9/1000 Green River 9.4/1000
Barren River 8.9/1000 Lincoln Trail 7.6/1000 Kentuckiana 8.5/1000
Northern KY 8.8/1000 Buffalo Trace 12.1/1000 Gateway 8.4/1000
FIVCO 8.6/1000 Big Sandy 11.1/1000 KY River 9.7/1000
Cumberland Valley 12.9/1000 Bluegrass 9.3/1000 Lake Cumberland 13.3/1000
National Vital Statistics Report: http://www.cdc.gov/
The birth rate for all races for 15-19 year olds rose in 2006 but declined for 10-14 year olds. Kentucky’s rate declined by 29 percent for the years 1991-2005 and rose by 11% for 2005-2006. National Center for Health Statistics and CDC http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/births.htm