For many years, teen pregnancy rates in the U.S. were declining. Every year from 1990 to 2005 saw a decrease in the national teen pregnancy rate – but then, the rate started trending upward again.

So, too, did Montana’s rates. While the state’s rate of teen births fell by 15 percent from 1991 to 2006, and while historically Montana’s teen pregnancy rate has been lower than the national average, it looks like Montana is currently on a course to close the gap.

In 2006, Montana suddenly saw a 9 percent increase in its teen birth rate. Unfortunately, the increase has only continued, and now Montana is seeing the second-highest increase in the rate of babies born to teenagers of any state in the nation. At last count, in 2008, 1,680 teenagers in Montana found themselves pregnant.

Teenage parents have children who are more likely to drop out of high school, use social services, experience abuse or neglect, enter the foster care system, and end up in prison. They are also more likely to repeat the cycle by having children of their own at a young age.
In fact, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy estimates that the cost of teen childbearing to Montana run about $18 million – each year.

The good news is that the steep increase Montana’s teen birth rate caught the attention of a national organization based in Washington, D.C., called the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, and that nonpartisan group funded a mid-September summit in Missoula on the issue of teen pregnancy prevention.

That summit brought together parents, educators, social service providers, government representatives and many others to talk about the unfortunate trends and discuss what could be done about it. The reality is that there are already a number of small groups throughout the state working to prevent teen pregnancy, but no statewide umbrella that would bring these various efforts together.

And so, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy has asked Planned Parenthood of Montana, as the largest provider of family planning services in the state, to organize a statewide coalition solely devoted to the issue of teen pregnancy prevention.

The coalition is in its early stages, but already it has brought together an array of government agencies, nonprofits and concerned parents. Their multi-level approach includes the active involvement of parents in any teen pregnancy prevention effort, as well as Montana’s school districts and other educational institutions.

- MM