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agarrobo@beaufortgazette.com
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Teen pregnancy in South Carolina increased among girls between 10 and 19 years old despite a recent downward trend, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control last week.
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Beaufort County bucked the trend. The teen pregnancy rate dropped from 39 teen pregnancies per 1,000 in 2005 to 34 in 2006. The county is ranked 33rd out of 46 counties.
Although the data are two years old, they are fairly accurate, said April Borkman, adolescent pregnancy prevention coordinator at the Child Abuse Prevention Association.
"(Beaufort County) is in the same situation as the rest of the state. We can't look at these numbers and say we're OK," Borkman said. "We can't look at this problem within the confines our the county lines."
She said that parents, the community and educational systems should talk with youth about pregnancy. Current events such as the pregnancies of celebrity Jamie Lynn Spears and Bristol Palin, Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin's daughter, are prefect opportunities to bring up pregnancy conversations, Borkman said.
The 2006 statistics show that in South Carolina, 10,604 teen girls were pregnant. The numbers are the most recent statistics because it takes a while to compile all counties' information, said Cayci Banks, Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy communications director. Since 2004, pregnancy rates have increased 8 percent from 33.1 per 1,000 births to 35.9.
Banks said there is not necessarily one factor that contributed to the rise in pregnancy rates, but that lack of investment on the part of the state and communities played a large role. She said that when the numbers began to drop, teen pregnancy fell off the radar, but that should not happen. In response to the released information, the S.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy officials said in a news release that a renewed focus should be placed on preventing teen pregnancy.
"We just have to encourage everyone. It's not just an issue affecting one part of our state. We all have to work together to recommit to our young people in this state," Banks said.
However, teen pregnancy in the state experienced an overall downward trend since 1994 when the rate of pregnancy was 44.4 per 1,000 births, according to the S.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.
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