Pregnancies among teens in Tennessee are dropping

Teen pregnancies are continuing to decrease as part of a nationwide program sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The President's Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative is currently helping increase youth access to evidence-based programs to curb teen pregnancy.

Furthermore, the project is aiming to link prevention programs with community-based clinical services. For instance, many Tennessee counties are reporting decreases in teen pregnancies, Chattanooga Times Free Press reports.

In-state studies show that Hamilton County recorded declines in teen birthrates, especially among black females between ages 15 and 17. Officials from the Harriet Tubman Express (HTE) program told the news source that a local network of youth advocacy curricula appears to be making progress. The HTE reports only four pregnancies among its 1,100 members in the past 20 years.

Officials from the state's Department of Health told the news source that teen mothers are more likely to give birth to premature or low birth weight babies, which are major risk factors for infant mortality. They added that mothers are more likely to drop out of school and live in poverty.