Oklahoma’s teen birth rate drops to #5 in the nation. 2022 data on the number of teen births is in, and it’s good news for the Sooner State. The birth rate for females ages 15-19 fell from 24.1 births per 1,000 to 21.1, knocking us down from last year's fourth-place ranking.

Teen pregnancy is linked to poorer pregnancy outcomes, as well as lower high school and college graduation rates for both mom and baby. So it's super exciting to see that the state’s teen birth rate has decreased a whopping 28% between 2018 and 2022.

Tulsa County has seen even larger declines. Why? According to Tulsa World’s coverage, local orgs that support sex-ed and contraception access are helping youth make healthy decisions in partnership with their parents.

Heather Duvall, executive director at Amplify Youth Health Collective, said the data represents a “huge accomplishment.” She believes the trend will continue as long as young people have “access to education, information and resources, health care services like (family planning) clinics, and free or low-cost contraception and condoms.” Dig deeper.

From Metriarch's Instagram