Over one in five females will become teen mothers in North Carolina, according to a research brief by the nonprofit Child Trends.
N.C.’s projected rate is 22 percent, 4 percent higher than the national average reported in the brief.
The authors estimate that nine states will have teen pregnancy rates 25 percent or greater:
- Mississippi: 30 percent
- New Mexico: 29 percent
- Arizona: 28 percent
- Texas: 28 percent
- Arkansas: 28 percent
- Nevada: 27 percent
- Oklahoma: 26 percent
- Kentucky: 25 percent
- Tennessee: 25 percent
Colleen Calvani, a CJ contributor, has an interesting report on unwed birthrates in N.C. on pg. 5 of this month’s issue.