Teen pregnancy rates drop in N.C.

Comprehensive education, successful prevention services and outreach programs are all factors that officials say have contributed to the state’s record-low teen pregnancy rate — with Orange County leading the way.

According to data released Oct. 18 by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, 56 out of every 1,000 young women aged 15 to 19 years old became pregnant last year, a 4.4 percent decrease from 2008.

This compares to Orange County’s figure of 18 out of every 1,000 female teenagers in the same age group who became pregnant in 2009.

Kay Phillips, the executive director of the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign of North Carolina, said she attributes the decrease to the use of more effective curricula in teen pregnancy education and awareness programs.

In June 2009, the Healthy Youth Act was passed by the N.C. General Assembly, requiring public schools to teach both abstinence and safe sex methods.

The act became effective this school year, so the results of the legislation won’t be fully known until next year’s survey.

Emily Adams, the vice president of education for Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina, said she thinks part of the reason Orange County has such a low rate is the effectiveness of the services it offers.

Adams said Planned Parenthood’s programs in the county include Teen Voices and Joven a Joven, which works with 14- to 18-year-olds. Participants go through a program where they must reach out to 30 of their peers, giving them referrals or helping to educate them on teen pregnancy.

Adams said the program is fairly informal.

“They might be correcting information they heard on the bus,” she said. “It may be someone at the lunch table who’s struggling with a situation and needs referral for something.”

The Adolescent Parenting Program, an Orange County Department of Social Services initiative, focuses on secondary prevention.

The program works with teens who are already pregnant to prevent them from becoming pregnant again.

Beth Creech, a social worker with the program, said she and others work one-on-one with pregnant teens and their partners to teach them prenatal education and job skills.

“It’s kind of a unique program,” said Creech. “It focuses not only on the infant but also on the teen. They’re not finished growing up yet themselves.”

The program also encourages further education and helps teens find scholarships and financial aid.

The program involves 25 hours of group education to provide pregnant teens with a social network because teen pregnancy can be isolating, Creech said.

She said there have been peaks and valleys in the teen pregnancy rate over the years, and she hopes the decreases keep coming.

North Carolina has the 14th highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation, according to the prevention campaign.

“I’m really excited to see that we’ve had a drop, but I’d like to see the trend continue over the next few years,” Creech said, “That’s when you really know you’ve made an impact.”

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.