Teenage Birth Rate Up in Kentucky

The CDC found that between 2005 and 2006, the birth rate for girls aged 15 to 19 rose three percent nationwide.  But Kentucky is among eight states with the highest increases, up 11%.  The increase comes after 14 years of steady decreases in the state’s teen birth rate.  Birth rates among women of all ages, especially teens and women in their early 40s, increased nationwide.  But the study’s authors cited the high public costs of teenage childbearing, which top $9 billion dollars annually.On the Web: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_07.pdf