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The nation's falling teen birth rate saw an even bigger drop over the past decade, with dramatic declines among Hispanic and black teens. Birth rates are down a whopping 51 percent among Hispanics age 15 to 19 since 2006, and down 44 percent among black teens, according to a survey of census data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Teen pregnancy rates among whites also fell by a third. (Ludden, 4/28)

Birth rates are falling dramatically for black and Hispanic teenagers, but they continue to be much higher than the birth rate for white teens. The Hispanic teen birth rate fell by half over about eight years, and the black teen birth rate dropped nearly that much. But even with those declines, the white teen birth rate is still only half as high, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday. "Despite this historic progress, profound disparities remain," said Bill Albert, chief program officer for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. (4/28)

Theories on the reasons for the dramatic shift include everything from new approaches to sex education to the widespread availability of broadband Internet. But most experts agree on the two major causes. The first is the most important and may be obvious: Today's teens enjoy better access to contraception and more convenient contraception than their predecessors, and more of them are taking advantage of innovations like long-acting injectable and implantable methods that can last years over a daily birth control pill. But the second cause is something that goes against the conventional wisdom. It's that teens -- despite their portrayal in popular TV and movies as uninhibited and acting only on hormones -- are having less sex. (Cha, 4/28)

“The United States has made remarkable progress in reducing both teen pregnancy and racial and ethnic differences, but the reality is, too many American teens are still having babies,” said Dr. Tom Frieden, CDC director, in a statement. “By better understanding the many factors that contribute to teen pregnancy we can better design, implement, evaluate, and improve prevention interventions and further reduce disparities.” The CDC also reported that research shows the cost to U.S. taxpayers from teen pregnancy and childbirth is estimated at $9 billion a year. To reduce the rates, public health officials have been concentrating on community-level programs. That includes reproductive health services such as contraception. (Cohn, 4/28)

Teenage girls are catching up to teenage boys in one way that does no one any good: lack of sex education, according to a recent report. The proportion of teenage girls between the ages of 15 and 19 who were taught about birth control methods declined from 70 to 60 percent over two time periods, from 2006-2010 and 2011-2013, the analysis of federal data found. Meanwhile, the percentage of teenage boys in the same age group who were taught about birth control also declined, from 61 to 55 percent. (Andrews, 4/29)