Oklahoma No. 6 in Teen Pregnancy Rate

New figures out today from the Centers for Disease Control show that teen pregnancy rates have increased in 26 states, including Oklahoma.

While Mississippi leads the nation with 68.4 teen births per 1,000, Oklahoma comes in sixth with a rate of 59.6 per 1,000 births. The CDC numbers are from 2006.

Here is a national summary from the AP:

ATLANTA -- Mississippi now has the nation's highest teen pregnancy rate, displacing Texas and New Mexico for that lamentable title, according to a new federal report released Wednesday.

Mississippi's rate was more than 60 percent higher than the national average in 2006, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The teen pregnancy rate in Texas and New Mexico was more than 50 percent higher.

The three states have large proportions of black and Hispanic teenagers - groups that traditionally have higher birth rates, experts noted.

The lowest teen birth rates continue to be in New England, where three states have teen birth rates at just half the national average.

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More than a year ago, a preliminary report on the 2006 data revealed that the U.S. teen birth rate had risen for the first time in about 15 years. But the new numbers provide the first state-by-state information on the increase.

The new report is based on a review of all the birth certificates in 2006. Significant increases in teen birth rates were noted in 26 states.

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Numerically, the largest increases were in the states with the largest populations. California, Texas and Florida together generated almost 30 percent of the nation's extra teen births in 2006.

Some experts have blamed the national increase on increased federal funding for abstinence-only health education that does not teach teens how to use condoms and other contraception. They said that would explain why teen birth rate increases have been detected across much of the country and not just in a few spots.

There is debate about that, however. Some conservative organizations have argued that contraceptive-focused sex education is still common, and that the new teen birth numbers reflect it is failing.

UPDATE: A reporter for ABC News’s Jackson, Mississippi, affiliate explained the rise in the teen birth rate in the state: “The Mississippi Department of Human Services says abstinence is the only birth control that is 100 percent effective. And that’s the only message teens need to hear.” Unfortunately, numerous studies show that abstinence-only education is not effective.

UPDATE 2: Some bloggers have noted this obvious but interesting point: The states with the highest teen pregnancy rates are mostly Red States, a list that includes Texas and Oklahoma.