FRIDAY, April 18 (HealthDay News) -- The proportion of pregnancies among U.S. women under the age of 25 has declined during the period from 1990 to 2004, according to a report prepared by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.
The report, "Estimated Pregnancy Rates by Outcome for the United States, 1990-2004," found that there were 6 percent fewer pregnancies among U.S. women of all ages in 2004 versus 1990: close to 6.8 million pregnancies in 1990 compared to 6.4 million in 2004. Whereas 43 percent of pregnancies in 1990 were to women under the age of 25 and 15 percent to teenagers, the proportions dropped to 38 percent and 12 percent, respectively, in 2004.
The number of pregnancies among married women fell from 4.1 million in 1990 to 3.5 million in 2004, and the total number of pregnancies among unmarried women rose from over 2.7 million in 1990 to over 2.8 million in 2004. While 37 percent of pregnancies among black women were terminated, the percentage was 12 percent for white women and 19 percent for Hispanic women.
"This latest pregnancy outcome report finds that there was little change in births and fetal loss numbers between 1990 and 2004. However, abortions fell 24 percent over this time period," said Stephanie Ventura, Ph.D., head of the CDC/ National Center for Health Statistics reproductive statistics branch, in a statement.
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