Study: Covington County sees drop in teen birth rate

A new study indicates that Covington County is among Alabama’s counties experiencing a decline in teen births.

BadCredit.org conducted a five-year study of teen birth data to identify which counties in America have the highest and lowest rates of teen births during that time frame. The study found that, overall, the number of teen births across the nation dropped by six births per 1,000 people.

The data for Alabama shows that Covington County decreased its teen birth rate by 10 percent, tied with two other counties as the eighth largest decrease.

Counties experiencing the largest decrease are: Chambers County, 15 percent decrease; Crenshaw, 14 percent; Geneva, 13 percent; Coosa, 12 percent; Tallapoosa, 12 percent; Bullock, 11 percent; then Bibb, Covington and Jackson, each at 10 percent.

Overall, Alabama had a 6 percent decrease in teen births over the five-year span, the 20th largest decrease among states.

“It’s tough to get out of financial difficulties if you start at a disadvantage, like having a child during your teenage years,” says Jon McDonald, senior editor at BadCredit.org. “There’s no question that more access to sex education, healthcare and contraception can help counter the number of teen pregnancies, and in turn, help young people get off to a better start in their future life and career, and hopefully a stronger financial future.”