Congrats, Milwaukee

In the last year, the birth rate for girls ages 15-17 dropped from 55.43 births per thousand to 50.03. I applaud all those who combined their efforts to make this happen. I am glad that they attributed part of the reason to delaying sex which I think girls are discovering gives them much happier lives regardless of pregnancy avoidance.

I just wish the pregnancy rate was reported to see if it dropped that much. Generally in this age group, pregnant teens abort the baby whereas the older teen or young woman will keep the baby. It's one reason for the discrepancy in birth rates among age groups; the downturn in under-17 yr old births is countered by an upswing in 18-21 yr.old births. So the pregnancy rate could be about 12-15 points higher if the trends of the past hold.

I hope success with this one aspect of teen sexual behavior will motivate prevention efforts to turn their attention to the young girls themselves. Just as the public outcry forced United Way to recognize the sexual use and abuse of young girls as part of the teen pregnancy problem, I hope the rumblings I hear about the extreme anger and sexual acting out of girls will be addressed so that we can meet their emotional needs making them whole and happy again.