Mississippi has highest teen birth rate, CDC says

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AP – CHANGES all percentages to rates per thousand; map shows the teen birth rate for 15- to -19 year olds …

ATLANTA – Mississippi now has the nation's highest teen birth rate, displacing Texas and New Mexico for that lamentable title, a new federal report says. Mississippi's rate was more than 60 percent higher than the national average in 2006, according to new state statistics released

Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The teen birth rate for that year in Texas and New Mexico was more than 50 percent higher.

The three states have large proportions of black and Hispanic teenagers — groups that traditionally have higher birth rates, experts noted.

The lowest teen birth rates continue to be in New England, where three states have rates at roughly half the national average, which is 42 births per 1,000 teen women.

It's not clear why Mississippi, with 68 births per 1,000, surged into first place. The state's one-year increase of nearly 1,000 teen births could be a statistical blip, said Ron Cossman, a Mississippi State University researcher who focuses on children's health statistics.

By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer Mike Stobbe, Ap Medical Writer – Wed Jan 7, 5:08 pm ET