Description: These rates are per 1,000 population of 15 - 19 year old females by year.

2020 target rate of 27.5 births per 1,000 women ages 15-19: In 2011, the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign of North Carolina set a statewide goal of reducing the teen pregnancy rate by 30% by the year 2020. Buncombe County's teen pregnancy rate that same year was 39.3, so a 30% reduction for the county would be 27.5 births per 1,000 women ages 15-19. When viewing the teen pregnancy rate disaggregated by race/ethnicity, the amount of work that has to be done to achieve health equity around this community problem in Buncombe County becomes clear.

Source: Data available from North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics (NC SCHS), Vital Statistics. There are several reports on this webpage. Scroll down to section called, "NC Reported Pregnancies" by year to find report, "Pregnancy Rates by race and ethnicity and by age": http://www.schs.state.nc.us/data/vital.cfm#vitalpreg

NOTE about data comparability: The "NC Reported Pregnancies" report for years prior to 2010 does not present data by race and ethnicity the same way. The data prior to 2010 appears as "white" and "minority" and is not comparable to more recent years. Only county and state totals (not by race or ethnicity) are included for years prior to 2010.

Note about small numbers: When numbers are less than 20 the rate is suppressed. This is why a rate for Hispanic teen births was not entered for 2014.

Locally, statewide, and nationally, teen pregnancy rates have been gradually dropping. However, the United States still has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates among developed nations at 24.2 births/1000 women aged 15-19. North Carolina's rate is significantly higher at 32.3 births/1000 women aged 15-19. Buncombe county's rate is lower at 27.9 births/1000 women.

Risks for teen mothers and babies:

• More likely to engage in poor health behaviors like eating unhealthy foods, smoking, drinking alcohol and taking drugs
• Less likely to get early and regular prenatal care
• Higher risk for pregnancy complications
• Higher risk of STDs that can cause pregnancy complications or result in maternal or infant death.
• Higher risk of infant mortality
• Higher risk of premature or low birthweight babies

Buncombe County Health and Human Services:

Family Planning and STD Clinics: Women's wellness visits, family planning services and STD screening, education, treatment and follow-up

Nurse Family Partnership: NFP is an evidence-based community health program that helps transform the lives of vulnerable mothers pregnant with their first child. Each mother served by NFP is partnered with a registered nurse early in her pregnancy and receives ongoing nurse home visits that continue through her child’s second birthday.

HHS Community Service Navigators: The CSN initiative was created to connect people with Buncombe County Health and Human Services, strengthen the communities capacity to help meet citizen needs, empower citizens and communities as change agents to promote positive outcomes, build and enhance collaborative partnerships, and reduce over utilization of more costly services.

Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC): Family Health, Obstetrics & Gynecology, School Health Nursing Program, Buncombe County Prenatal Safety Net

Mt. Zion Community Development, Inc.: Project NAF (Nurturing Asheville & Area Families) is Buncombe County's Minority Infant Mortality Program that provides advocacy and support services to African American pregnant and post-partum women and their babies; Project EMPOWER (Education Means Power), one of Buncombe County's Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiatives, which works in collaboration with the Asheville City Schools System and Foundation.

Planned Parenthood: women's health, reproductive health, and family planning services

Western North Carolina Community Health Services (WNCCHS): Federally Qualified Health Center providing primary healthcare, dental, behavioral health, and support services

YWCA MotherLove: MotherLove is a comprehensive program for pregnant and parenting teens. The goals of the MotherLove Program are that pregnant and parenting teens stay in school, access higher education and vocational training, develop the skills and knowledge needed to become strong parents and delay another teen pregnancy.