title: Rural adolescent pregnancy: a view from the South.
abstract: An analysis of 1990 census and vital statistics data for eight Southeastern states revealed that the teenage birthrate generally was higher in rural than in metropolitan areas; the exception was among black women aged 15-17. The highest birthrate was 162 births per 1,000 among rural black women aged 18-19. Abortion rates were much lower for rural teenagers than for urban teenagers, regardless of race. For 15-17-year-olds, white women had an abortion rate of 12 abortions per 1,000 in rural counties and 18 per 1,000 in metropolitan counties; black women had rates of 13 per 1,000 and 30 per 1,000 in rural and metropolitan areas, respectively. Similarly, the abortion ratio was lower in rural than in urban areas; for example, 18% of rural white women aged 18-19 who became pregnant had an abortion, compared with 35% of their metropolitan counterparts. Black 15-17-year-olds in metropolitan areas had a higher pregnancy rate (106 per 1,000) than those in rural counties (87 per 1,000). The pregnancy rate of white women aged 15-17 was similar in rural [corrected] and metropolitan areas (about 46 per 1,000). Among rural women aged 18-19, 32% of births to whites and 45% of those to blacks resulted from a second or higher order pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Skatrud
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Guild
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Loda
authors.forename: L V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Klerman
mesh_terms: D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001723:Birth Rate; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D018873:Pregnancy Rate; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012424:Rural Population; D015144:Southeastern United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data