U.S. teen birth rates reached a historic low in 2011, but racial disparities persisted.
U.S. vital statistics data for 2011 show that the crude birth rate was the lowest ever reported. Teen birth rates dropped steadily during the preceding 5 years among all racial/ethnic subgroups and also reached a historic low, although teen births remained twice as common in blacks and Hispanics as in whites. Since 1990, the number of pregnancies affected by diabetes more than doubled. Prevalence of preterm birth fell slightly but varied greatly by state (8.8 per 1000 live births in Vermont vs. 16.9 per 1000 in Mississippi).
