Hannah Watkins, a 17-year-old junior at Jefferson County Public Schools’ South Park Teen Age Parent Program, said she’s glad to hear about the national trends. But she hopes to see fewer local teens wind up in a situation similar to hers - giving birth to her daughter, Abigail Macaione, just after turning 16.

“Teens don’t need to be having babies,” she said. “When you’re a kid having a kid, you’re still trying to figure out things in life. You don’t have all the experience you need to take care of a child. My teenage life before I had her is gone. It’s Abby’s life now.”

Lora Reinhardt, community health specialist at the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health & Wellness, said there are some encouraging signs. For instance, Louisville’s teen birth rate has dropped from 50.6 in 2009 as state and national rates also dropped.

“It is a great sign that we are moving in the right direction,” she said. “But we still have to work hard in this area so that the rates hopefully continue to drop.”

Sara York, principal at the teen parent program, said Kentucky’s persistent poverty is one of the big challenges to bringing down the state’s teen birth rate. A U.S. Census Bureau report from October 2011 found that 19 percent of Kentuckians lived in poverty in 2010, compared with 15.3 percent nationally. In wealthier regions, she said, there may be more opportunities for girls.

“There is a strong correlation between poverty and teen births,” York said. “That’s not to say everybody who gets pregnant lives in poverty, but the correlation is there. We are a state with many social and economic problems.”

U.S. trends encouraging
Thursday’s report says that, despite the precipitious drop in teen births nationally, the U.S. rates remain much higher than in other developed countries.

But it cited trends that could lead to a continuing decline.

Analyzing data from the National Survey of Family Growth, CDC researchers found that during 2006-2010, 57 percent of 15- to 19-year-old girls had never had vaginal intercourse, up from 49 percent in 1995. Younger teens, those 15 to 17, were more likely than older teens to have never had sex — 73 percent compared with 36 percent. Researchers found the proportion of teens who had never had sex did not differ by race or ethnicity.

Among teen girls who have had sex, about 60 percent reported currently using “highly effective” contraceptive methods such as intrauterine devices or birth control pills, up from 47 percent in 1995.

“This report shows we’re making progress on a hard issue that is hard to discuss and hard to attack,” Reinhardt said.

To reduce teen pregnancy further, researchers said teens should receive more counseling encouraging them to delay sexual activity. Among those who are already sexually active, researchers said there should be “culturally competent” counseling on the use of highly effective contraceptive methods — ideally along with condoms to reduce sexually transmitted diseases.

Hannah said she was only using condoms when she became pregnant. Now, she said, she goes to a clinic at the teen parent program and uses the hormonal injection method Depo-Provera.

She said she plans to go to college and doesn’t want another child for a long time.

“It’s not like, ‘Oh, my life’s over,’ ” she said of being a teen mom. “But it’s a challenge.”

Education key
Local and state officials said they hope to continue seeing teen birth rates drop in Kentucky. Benita Decker, adolescent health coordinator at the state Department for Public Health, said Kentucky’s teen birth rate dropped about 16 percent from 2008 to 2010.

But she reiterated that poverty is a major reason Kentucky still has one of the nation’s highest rates. She said teen birth rates by county “run neck and neck” with poverty rates. Decker said the state’s strategic plan for teen pregnancy prevention calls for age-appropriate sex education, engaging parents, publicizing the issue and ensuring all young people have access to good health care.

Decker and others said education also plays a big part. Across Kentucky, she said, prevention education has increased in schools — both abstinence-only education and comprehensive sex education that includes discussion of birth control.

She said a state survey three years ago found that 33 percent of schools were teaching comprehensive sex education, compared with 55 percent teaching abstinence-only or abstinence plus the use of condoms to prevent STDs. She said the number of schools teaching comprehensive sex education has increased since.

“All comprehensive sex education starts with the fact that abstinence is the best way,” Decker said.

Reinhardt said she teaches sex education mostly at high schools and is guided by administrators about what she should cover at each school. She said many choose abstinence-only with discussion of condoms for STD prevention, although she gives comprehensive talks at the teen parent program and at many community centers. She said she always talks about goal setting, planning for the future and responsibility.

York said she supports comprehensive sex education — including a heavy dose of education on self-respect and goal setting.

That includes the education girls get at home, said Dr. Monique Howard, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Louisville.

“Sometimes parents are afraid to talk about sex,” Howard said. “But studies have shown that they actually listen to their parents.”

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Laura Ungar
The Courier-Journal