U.S. Public Health Data

The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics reports that the U.S. teen birth rate fell another 7% in 2025 to 11.7 births per 1,000 females ages 15 to 19, the lowest level ever recorded and down from 61.8 per 1,000 in 1991. Based on provisional data covering more than 99% of registered births, the analysis finds nearly 126,000 babies were born to mothers in that age group, while the overall national birth rate slipped 1%, continuing a long‑running decline. The report also notes that the U.S. cesarean delivery rate rose to 32.5% in 2025, the highest since 2013, and that preterm birth rates were essentially unchanged. Lead author Brady Hamilton calls the 7% single‑year drop in teen births “really quite extraordinary,” and outside experts attribute the decades‑long decline mainly to higher contraceptive use, lower teen sexual activity, and continuing access to abortion, while warning against assuming teen‑parent support needs have disappeared. The CDC left race and ethnicity breakdowns out of this year’s provisional report—despite including them in past years—saying it is covering fewer topics, though those data remain accessible in its WONDER database, a change already prompting questions from researchers who track persistent disparities.