According to the study, Arkansas has a birth rate of 26.5 births per 1,000 women between the ages of 15 to 19. That is 90.6% above the national average. Meanwhile, Louisiana has a birth rate 76.3% higher than the national average at 24.5 births per 1,000 women, ages 15 to 19.
SHREVEPORT, La. ( KTAL/KMSS ) – A study analyzed recent CDC data and showed that Louisiana and Arkansas are both in the top three states for young new mothers. The study from the national group Birth Injury Lawyer ranks Arkansas as number one, Mississippi as number two, and Louisiana as number three.
“Overall, women in America tend to have children most frequently between 30 and 34, with women between 25 and 29 having children second most frequently,” said Bob Goldwater, with Birth Injury Lawyers.
A local pregnancy center in Shreveport weighed in on this data, telling KMSS that although these numbers may seem high, there’s still been a downward trend over the past few years.
“We’ve gone from 60 girls, teenage moms, in 2008. And every year we’ve gone down to just 24 per thousand in 2021, which is where that study came from,” Mary’s Pregnancy Center founder L’Anne Sciba. “So I’m thinking we’re doing a really good job.”