The U.S. teen birth rate fell 7% in 2025, continuing a long downward trend, according to a provisional report released by the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rate for females ages 15 to 19 was 11.7 births per 1,000, with nearly 126,000 babies born to mothers in that age group. By comparison, the teen birth rate in 1991 was 61.8 per 1,000.
Brady Hamilton, the report’s lead author and a statistician demographer at the center, called the 7% decline “really quite extraordinary.” The provisional report, produced each spring from more than 99% of registered births, offers an early look at key measures before the final data are published, usually in August.
The report also found the overall birth rate declined 1% from the prior year, the preterm birth rate was unchanged, and the cesarean delivery rate rose to 32.5% in 2025 — the highest since 2013 and part of a modest upward trend. This year’s provisional release covers fewer topics than some recent reports and does not include an analysis of births by maternal race or ethnicity; the CDC said race and ethnicity data remain available through its WONDER online database.
The harder “why” question
Birth certificates provide detailed demographic and geographic information, but they do not explain causes behind trends, Hamilton said. Experts point to multiple factors that have driven the decades-long decline in teen births. Bianca Allison, a pediatrician and researcher at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, says lower teen pregnancy rates likely reflect higher contraceptive use, reduced sexual activity among youth, and continued access to abortion care.
Interpreting the decline depends on perspective. Allison, a fellow with Physicians for Reproductive Health, says the drop in teen births should be celebrated if it aligns with young people’s preferences and access to reproductive health care. At the same time, she warns against viewing teen parenthood only through negative narratives about education and career outcomes, noting that many adverse outcomes stem from inadequate social, institutional, and systemic support rather than young people’s ability to parent.
Allison urges continued investment in supports for teen parents — educational, social and medical — so those who do become parents can thrive.
