Nevada leads U.S. in teen pregnancy category

By Timothy Pratt

Friday, Nov. 28, 2003 | 11 a.m.

Nevada ranked highest in the nation in teens with more than one child in 2001, according to a report on teen pregnancy released this week.

One of four teens who gave birth in Nevada in 2001 already had at least one child. That was the highest rate in the country, matched only by Texas.

The report also indicated that nationwide, teens from 15 to 19 are getting pregnant less often. The same tendency was shown in Nevada, though the state's figures -- 56 births per 1,000 15- to 19-year-olds -- ranked 12th highest in the nation for 2001, the most recent year available.

Nevada's No. 1 ranking in what are called repeat births surprised private and public officials who work with sex education and teen pregnancy. They also said Nevada has never studied the problem and addresses it based on results gathered from other states.

"This is the first time I've seen (these) numbers (on repeat births)," said Kyle Devine, child and adolescent health coordinator for the State Health Division, whose job includes overseeing programs dealing with teen pregnancy.

"This is a new issue that needs to be dealt with," he said.

The report, released by Child Trends, a Washington-based nonprofit, uses federal numbers to analyze trends in teen sex and pregnancy.

The percentage of Nevada teen mothers with more than one baby rose from 23 percent to 25 percent, bringing the state's ranking from sixth to first between 2000 and 2001, the only years shown in the report for that category.

The report also noted that that Nevada's teen birth rates were lower in 2001 than they were in 1995. The rate was 73 births per 1,000 teens in 1995 -- which ranked the state fifth nationwide, but in 2001 the rate was 56 births per 1,000 teens -- 12th nationwide.

During the same period, the nation's rates dropped from 56 births per 1,000 teens to 45 per 1,000.

Fran Courtney, board member of The Huntridge Clinic, a Las Vegas nonprofit clinic for teens, said that several initiatives statewide in recent years might be helping to drive the numbers down. These programs attempt to educate teens on birth control as well as engage them in activities -- "so they don't try to fill a void in their lives with sex," Courtney said.

Despite those efforts, she said, more education about sex and teen pregnancy is needed in schools and teens who get pregnant often drop out of school altogether. Some of those teens also leave home and end up homeless.

Courtney said that Planned Parenthood, Huntridge and the Clark County Health District's Family Planning Centers are the only source of confidential, free medical information and health care for teens who are pregnant or want to make decisions about sex.

"There are limited options for medical care and family planning," said Courtney, who is also the director of clinic and nursing services for the Health District.

As for the reasons behind the high teen pregnancy rates and repeat births in Nevada, Devine and Courtney both said they knew of no studies that looked at the problem statewide or locally.

"I don't believe the problem has been studied," Courtney said.

"We're mostly basing our programs on studies done on teens in other states and why they get pregnant," she said.

The county health official said that characteristics particular to Nevada that might contribute to teen pregnancy are the numbers of parents working late shifts -- leaving teens alone more often -- and the state's high dropout rate. These are among the factors that lead teens to sex, she said.

Devine said he thought the state needed to study the problem. He also said that the health division had a position whose sole responsibility was preventing teen pregnancy in early 2002, but funding was cut for that position.

Agustin Orci, deputy superintendent of instruction for the Clark County School District, said he also knew of no studies done to prevent or address the problem of teen pregnancy.

The school district, he said, tries to address the issue through sexual education based on abstinence that is part of the health curriculum offered from upper elementary to high schools. Students must obtain permission from their parents to take those courses, he said.

In addition, Orci said night programs offered at high schools throughout the Las Vegas Valley are "an option" for teens who are pregnant or have children.

In the end, accurate information and constructive activities are important to stem the problem of teen pregnancy, Courtney said.

"Teens get bored. They have to get involved and connected to something -- and they're not (doing that) here," she said.