Teen birth rate drops in California

The rate of teenagers having babies in California hit a record low in 2010, the state Department of Public Health announced Tuesday. 

Public health experts credit increased awareness and prevention programs for the decline of birthrates of girls ages 15 to 19. The rate dropped from 32.1 births for every 1,000 teens in 2009 to 29 births in 2010. The highest rate was in 1991, when there were 70.9 births for every 1,000 teenage girls.

“The continuing decline in teen birth rates underscores the importance of teen pregnancy prevention programs in California,” Dr. Ron Chapman, director of the California Department of Public Health, said in a statement Tuesday. “We must continue our work to achieve yet another milestone next year.”

Latinas continued to have the highest birth rate, but that also dropped -- from 50.8 in 2009 to 45.0 in 2010.

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Photo: Afton Tarin, 19, and her 20-month-old daughter Aisley play in the walk-in closet of their Santa Ana apartment. Tarin says contraceptive education could have delayed her pregnancy. Credit: Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times