Pregnancy Rates for Hispanic Teens Rising

ATLANTA — Births to Hispanic teens in Georgia soared over the past decade, while teen birth rates dropped for white and black teens, state health researchers reported.

The Hispanic pregnancy rate among 15- to 17-years-old went up nearly 62 percent between 1994 and 2003, according to the state Department of Human Resources.

During the same period, the rates for all girls in that age group dropped 41 percent. The drop was 48 percent among non-Hispanic blacks, and 46 percent among non-Hispanic whites.

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In 2002, one in seven Latina girls ages 15 to 19, gave birth, according to state data. If the trend persists, Hispanic girls would have 5,000 babies in 2020 — more than doubling the number born in 2002, according to the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention.

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