Public Health announces dramatic decline in teen pregnancies, births and abortions in Seattle and King County

KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON - Today, King County Executive Ron Sims, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and Public Health - Seattle & King County released "Public Health Data Watch: Adolescent Pregnancy, Birth and Abortion," a report that documents sharp drops and historic low levels in birth, pregnancy and abortion rates in adolescent girls in Seattle and King County.

King County Executive Ron Sims

"This is great news," said Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. "We're seeing real progress in the reduction of teen pregnancy."

"With teen-focused health education and services in our area, we are providing preventive and comprehensive health support to youth that is making an enormous difference," said Dr. Alonzo Plough, Director of Public Health - Seattle & King County. "Good health in youth improves school performance and is the foundation for a lifetime of healthy living."

Public Health report findings

• King County births, pregnancies and abortion in adolescent girls (age 15 to 17) have fallen sharply and are the lowest since 1978, the earliest year rates are available.
• There has been a 52% decline in teen births in all of King County. The areas of North King County and East King County have continued to have low and stable rates of teen birth over the last decade.
• The steepest teen birth decline has been in Seattle, where the birth rate fell by 65% since the peak in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Seattle decline is greater than declines in other cities across the country with available data.
  
• There have been significant declines in African Americans and American Indian/Alaska Native teen birth rates. Ethnic disparities, however, continue to exist since rates in these groups are higher than rates for the population as a whole. In addition, rates among Latinas/Hispanics have leveled off in recent years.
• As rates in Seattle have declined, the highest rates have moved to south King County. In south King County, White Center/Skyway and Highline Burien have consistently had the highest rates. In Seattle, Southeast Seattle has the highest rates and has shown little change in the last five years.

View the full report.

Reasons for decline

Several factors are likely contributing to improvements:

• Reproductive health education and services are available to teens in Seattle's school-based health centers, which were established in the mid-1990s when the decrease began.
• There has been a reduction in high school students who have begun sexual activity and who have had multiple sexual partners in their lifetime.
• There has been increased used of effective contraception.

Recommendations

In order to sustain the positive trends in teen birth, pregnancy and abortion rates, the Public Health report makes a series of recommendations:

• Supporting efforts to implement medically accurate, age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education programs in multiple community venues, including schools
• Continuing school-and community-based clinical services that target sexually active teens
• Designing interventions and programs that specifically target young men
• Supporting teen pregnancy prevention programs, including youth development programs
• Ensuring that teens have access to continuous, high quality health care to promote optimal health, as well as healthy pregnancies after the transition to adulthood

For more information on Public Health's Youth Health Services, which provides high-quality, comprehensive health services for youth, visit: www.kingcounty.gov/health/yhs

For information on Public Health's Family Planning Program, which provides reproductive health outreach and education services, visit: www.kingcounty.gov/health/famplan