Teen Births Down 9 percent from 2013 to 2014

Teen births continue to decline in the United States, with health officials reporting a 9 percent drop from 2013 to 2014.

Births to 15- to 19-year-olds fell to a historic low of 24 births per 1,000 women in 2014, said Sherry Murphy, a statistician at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.

At the same time, the proportion of births to women 30 and older increased, said Murphy, lead author of the report.

Mothers 30 and older accounted for 30 percent of births in 2014 -- up from 24 percent in 2000, the researchers found.

There were other changes in U.S. birth patterns as well.

"The number of overall births increased 1 percent in 2014 to about 4 million, compared with 2013," Murphy said.

The infant mortality rate decreased slightly in 2014 to a historic low -- about six infant deaths per 1,000 births, the findings showed.

However, "the U.S. infant mortality rate is still higher than many other developed countries," Murphy said.

Other key findings from the report included:

• Decreases in cesarean deliveries continued, and preterm births declined for the seventh year. 
• Death rates for children aged 1 to 19 did not change significantly between 2013 and 2014. Unintentional injuries and suicide were the top two causes of death in this age group. 

For the report, the researchers used 2013 to 2014 records that included birth certificates, death certificates and reports of fetal death across the United States.The report was published online May 30 in the journal Pediatrics.