About Teen Pregnancy in MT

How many Montana teens become pregnant each year?

• In 2009,1,629 pregnancies were reported in 200 among teenagers, including 8 to girls under the age of 15.
• From 1995 to 2007, the U.S teen birth rate declined by approximately 23%, and Montana's birth rate declined by 12%.

What does pregnancy cost Montana taxpayers?

• In Montana, the cost to taxpayers (federal, state, and local) associated with teen childbearing is estimated to be at least $18 million in 2004, of which $8 million are federal costs and $10 million are state and local costs.
• The average annual cost in 2006 associated with a child born to a mother 17 years of age or younger is $3,285.

What are the results of teen pregnancies?

• In 2009, 77.6% of Montana teen pregnancies resulted in live births, approximately 21% of teen pregnancies resulted in abortions, less than 1% in fetal deaths.

How many teens are unmarried when they give birth?

• Non-marital births to teens represent 26% of non-marital births in Montana; the remaining 74% of non-marital births were to women 20 years or older.
• The percentage of teen non-marital births (compared to all teen births) rose from 46% in 1981 to 80% in 2003.

What about the fathers?

• In 35% of the teen births in Montana, the father is three to ten years older than the mother.

What percentage of Montana teenagers are sexually active?

• In 2009, about three out of five (67.5%) of 12^th graders in Montana reported having had sexual intercourse at least once.
• Approximately one in every three (30.6%) 9^th graders reported they had sexual intercourse at least once.

What effect does childbearing have on a teen's health and economic status?

• Teens are more likely than women 20 years of age or older to have: late or no prenatal care; low birth weight babies; and babies who die within the first year of life.
• Teen parents are likely to be less educated, have more children, have more non-marital births, and have more unintended births than women who postpone childbearing.

Where do we want to be?

• No single approach can full address or solve the complex problem of teen pregnancy.
• Early and comprehensive teen pregnancy prevention strategies remain exceedingly more cost effective than the choices available once pregnancy occurs.