There's some encouraging news about San Antonio’s teen pregnancy rate. Fewer girls between the ages of 15 and 19 are having babies.
The vast majority of teen pregnancies are unplanned. The consequences last a lifetime. But the public health concern is about more than just children having children says Interim Director of the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District Dr. Vincent Nathan.
"Teen pregnancy also means unprotected sex. It means sexually transmitted diseases," Nathan stressed. "It means families that have an economic as well as a cultural disruption in their lives. And these are kids we’re talking about."
At a press conference, Metro Health revealed new, encouraging figures. From 2010 to 2014, the rate of teen pregnancy went down by 26 percent. Even so, 47 teens gave birth per week that year. To read the full report, click here.
Overall, San Antonio’s teen birth rate is 55 percent above the national average. Sixteen-year-old Diego Cura is part of a mentoring group called Project Worth that’s trying to change behaviors.
"We have made an astonishing amount of progress," Cura said. "So if we can just keep up this pace, we’ll soon be with the national average or less."
Pregnancy prevention programs reached 10,000 San Antonio teens last year. The idea is to attempt to curb a problem that’s projected to cost our economy more than 50 million dollars a year in healthcare, lost revenue and child welfare.
