Teen birth rates tumble in Sonoma County, but cultural disparities persist

Lost in the recent good news about declining birth rates among California teens is a Sonoma County statistic that has some local health experts scratching their heads.

In the past 15 years, the county’s overall teen birth rate has been cut in half, declining to 13.9 births for every 1,000 teens. But a wide disparity remains for birth rates for white teens and Latina teens.

For white teens, the birth rate is only 4.5 births per 1,000 teens, far lower than the state’s rate of 8.4 births for white teens. In contrast, the birth rate for local Latina teens is 27.7 births per 1,000 teens, very close to the state average of 31.3 births for Latina teens.

The reason for this disparity is difficult to pinpoint.

“Where is this difference coming from? Is access different? Is it access to education or is the cultural education different?” said Tammy Brunk, assistant professor in the school of nursing at Sonoma State University. “Or is there access to contraception? ... Are there social determinants that we don’t see, that Latinas face and that we need to figure out?”

Brunk, who did her doctoral study on teen pregnancy, said teen birth rates have been declining for many years but the reasons are not entirely clear, or at least there is no one particular reason. In some areas of the country, teen birth rates are still rising, she said.

The overall teen birth rate in Sonoma County plunged over the past 15 years, from 27.8 births per 1,000 teens during the three-year period ending in 2002 to 13.9 births during the three-year period ending in 2014. Latina teens also saw an impressive decline during the same period, from 76.5 births per 1,000 teens to 27.7 births. Similarly, births to white teens tumbled from 13.6 births per 1,000 teens to 4.5 births.

Across the state, teen birth rates also dropped sharply among all racial and ethnic groups between 2000 and 2014. The birth rate dropped from 77.3 to 31.3 births per 1,000 teens among Latina teens; 59.1 to 24.6 births for African-American teens; 22.3 to 8.4 births for white teens; and 15.0 to 3.7 births for Asian teens, according to a study by the California Department of Public Health.

But the state found racial disparities have actually increased during that period, with black and Latina teens three to four times more likely to give birth than white teens. The state also found that teen birth rates vary widely in different counties, from a low of 7 births per 1,000 teens in Marin County to a high of 45 births per 1,000 teens in Kern County.

The state found smaller racial and ethnic disparities among teens who had repeat births. For example, 17.4 percent of all births to Latina teens in the state were to young mothers who had a previous baby. The share was 16.4 percent for Asian teens, a group that had the lowest teen birth rate; 15.4 percent for Pacific Islanders; and 12.8 percent for both American Indian and white teens.

At 12.6 percent, multirace teens had the lowest repeat birth rate.

Poverty, environmental threats, inadequate access to high-quality health care and education inequalities are frequently linked to health disparities, such as teen birth rates, state Department of Public Health spokeswoman Ali Bay said in a statement.

“African-American and Hispanic youth continue to face higher rates of adolescent birth compared to white and Asian youth. We don’t exactly know why there are these differences but we have noted that in communities where there are high birth rates among youth, often there are also high levels of poverty and limited employment and educational opportunities,” Bay said.

In Sonoma County, public health officials said the downward trend for teen birth rates continues.

In 2015, there were 161 births to local teens, of which 113, or 70 percent, were to Latinas. By comparison, the county saw a total of 452 births to teens in 2000. Back then, the share of births to Latina teens was 60 percent, or a total of 267 births.

County social service and public health officials offered few clues for the ethnic disparities in the county’s teen birth rates. But the fact that rates are declining for everyone is good news, said Karen Milman, the county’s health officer. There is no one reason for this, she said.

“Contributing factors include increased knowledge and education, increased access to contraceptives and more teens waiting longer before having sex,” Milman said. “The most important thing we can do is to ensure teens have medically accurate comprehensive sex education, provide them a supportive environment and empower them to make informed, responsible decisions.”

Brunk echoed the need to create supportive environments for teens, especially Latina teens. She said some studies have examined a factor known as “pregnancy wantedness” or the desire for some teens to have babies.

“They value it. They feel like this is their future and maybe they don’t have a hopeful future,” Brunk said.

The county’s most at-risk teens, she said, must have access to sex education, as well as mentors who can provide “strong role models that they can identify with so they can see a positive future.”

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @renofish.