BARTON COUNTY — Barton County has received good news in that teen pregnancy numbers are down in 2012 from 2011, according to the Kansas 2012 Annual Summary of Vital Statistics, with 43 pregnancies for ages 10-19. The county teen pregnancy rate is 23.5 per 1,000 girls, which ranks 27th in the state.
Barton County had one pregnancy in the 10-14 age group, one abortion, and 42 pregnancies in the 15-19 age group for 2012.
In 2011, there were 54 teen pregnancies in Barton County with one still birth and four abortions with a teen pregnancy rate of 28.8 per 1,000 girls, ranking 13th in the state. In 2010, there were 51 teen pregnancies.
“It’s a positive move,” said Lily Akings, Barton County Health Department director. “Our county needs to support fewer teen pregnancies.
“We need to continue efforts in that direction,” she said. “I have to give the community credit and kids credit.
“Teenage pregnancies are such a problem,” Akings said. “Those babies don’t have the best start.”
She added the BCHD has seen fewer girls in clinics.
The Barton County teen pregnancy rate is still higher than much of the state. The state of Kansas rate is 19.7 pregnancies per 1,000.
Reno County has a rate of 16.9, Sedgwick is 22.9, and Saline is 22.2 per 1,000 teens. Finney County has a teen pregnancy rate of 33.2, Pratt County has a rate of 30.2 and Stafford County is 35.6.
The densely settled rural areas of the state have the highest rates of teen pregnancy at 23.7 per 1,000. Barton County is considered densely settled rural.
According the Centers for Disease Control, the U.S. the teen birth rate in the United States has been cut in half over the past 21 years. However, the U.S. rates are considerably higher than other countries.