The director of the Arizona Health Services Department reports that Arizona’s teen birth rate decreased 10% in the last year. According to last year’s Preliminary Birth Data for 2013, since 2009 Arizona’s teen birth rate has dropped more than 30 percent, from 10,725 in 2009 to 7,222 in 2013.
“We’ve been providing teen pregnancy prevention education since the mid 1990’s,” writes director Will Humble. “This sustained effort with evidence-based interventions is one factor that has contributed to the decline in teen pregnancies. There are literally thousands of kids around the state learning about healthy relationships and the impact of having a baby before they are ready.”
Humble offers the home visiting program run by the Nurse Family Partnership as another example of evidence-based program. “First-time moms who enroll work with registered nurses in a home setting find the support they need to have a healthy pregnancy, improve their child’s health and development, and become more economically self-sufficient,” according to Humble. “A number of the first-time moms that enroll in this program are teen mothers that receive information and support on a number of topics including how to prevent a subsequent pregnancy.”