When it comes to making decisions about sex, teens today are doing far better than they were 20 years ago. Fewer teens are having sex, and among those who are, more teens are using contraception. The happy result is that teen pregnancy and birth rates have declined dramatically. Despite this extraordinary progress, teen pregnancy and childbearing…

Analysis of Hispanic birth data for 22 states in 1980 showed the following: (1) The fertility rate for Hispanic women was 95.4 births per 1.000 women aged 15-44; this rate was 53 percent higher than the rate for non-Hispanic Whites and five percent higher than for non-Hispanic Blacks. (2) Age-specific birth rates indicated that the fertility of…

U.S. teen pregnancy and birth rates remain among the highest in the western world. And although Latina teens were the only group to experience a decline in birth rate between 2006 and 2007, they continue to experience the highest rates in most states and across the nation. About half of all Latina teens experience pregnancy before they reach their…

The author compares and analyzes American and Taiwanese maternity care systems, discussing the history of midwifery in Taiwan; the process by which a midwife establishes her practice; and her role in childbirth, abortion, adoption, and other services. (Author/DS)

Although female employment is associated with lower levels of completed fertility in the civilian world, we find family formation rates among U.S. military women to be comparatively high. We compare enlisted women with civilian women using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (N = 3,547), the only data set to measure simultaneously the…

This third Innocenti Report Card presents the most up-to-date and comprehensive survey so far of teenage birth rates in the industrialized world. And it attempts at least a partial analysis of why some countries have teenage birth rates that are ten or even fifteen times higher than others. The starting point is a new league table of teenage birth…

Compares the fertility behavior and fertility expectations for future childbearing of foreign-born and native-born women in the United States. Results show the immigrant-native fertility gap has increased during the 1980s because fertility dropped at a faster rate for natives than for immigrants. (GLR)

The State Parental Leave Study, which was conducted by the Families and Work Institute, covered the states of Minnesota, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. It was found that: (1) Implementation of state leave legislation was easy for the vast majority of employers; (2) The majority of employers did not report substantial costs resulting from the…

The study examined medical and social services to pregnant women, newborns and their families in 10 European countries and suggested implications for policy and practice in the United States. The 10 countries (Belgium, Denmark, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom) tend…

This publication reports trends in teen childbearing in the nation, in each state, and in large cities using data from the 2001 National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Rates of teenage childbearing continue to steadily decline, and the 2001 rates are historic lows for each age group. NCHS data showed that almost 80% of teen births nationwide…

Recently, Dr. Brindis and her colleagues compared four communities with high poverty and lower than average birth rates among Latina adolescents, with four communities which also had high poverty but had higher than average birth rates among Latina adolescents. Their goal was to examine the social capital and cultural norms within these…

A study examined mothers' accuracy in predicting the responses their children would give and the scores they would achieve on two standardized vocabulary tests. Specifically, the study's primary purpose was to examine maternal estimates of both expressive and receptive vocabulary skills according to two indices: accuracy of total score and…

This publication reports trends in teen childbearing in the Nation, in each state, and in large cities using data from the 2000 National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Rates of teenage childbearing steadily declined during the 1990s, reaching a record low in 2000. Rates declined for both younger and older teens and for blacks, whites, and…

This report was developed by Minnesota Planning to help counties measure their progress toward meeting the Minnesota Milestones goals for social and educational services for children. The report card is composed of 21 indicators of children's well-being. Since the 1994 report card was released, Minnesota has made progress in eight areas (1) abused…

This Kids Count report details statewide trends in the well-being of Nevada's children. The statistical portrait is based on indicators of children's well-being in six areas: (1) early care and education; (2) health; (3) economic well-being; (4) education; (5) child safety; and (6) juvenile justice. The report begins with a listing of preventive…