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Overall Trends in Pregnancy Rates and Outcomes
Births to teenage parents represent a small percentage of all births in Canada each year. The highest number of live births are to women 25 to 29 years of age. In 1994, this group accounted for one-third of all live births. The lowest number of live births is to women over 40 years of age. Teens have the second lowest number of live births; in 1994, 6 per cent of all live births were to teens (Statistics Canada.)
Table 1. Live Births by Age Group of Mother- 1994
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Total
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Age
15-19
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Age
20-24
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Age
25-29
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Age
30-34
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Age
35-39
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Age 40+
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385,112
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23,980
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73,301
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129,713
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113,691
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38,478
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5,415
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6%
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19%
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34%
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30%
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10%
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1%
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A recent report by Statistics Canada examined two decades of teen pregnancy statistics 1974-1994. The period from 1974 to 1987 saw teen pregnancy rates decline. However, since 1987, there has been an increase almost every year. In 1987, 39, 300 teenage women (15-19 years) became pregnant; in 1994, 46,800 teenage women became pregnant (Wadhera & Strachan, 1997)
Outcomes of pregnancy have changed since the 1970s as well. In 1974, 26% of teen women had a therapeutic abortion compared to 1994 in which almost half of teen pregnancies ended in abortion (45%). Adoption on the other hand is chosen less frequently. Most women under 25 chose to keep their child; only about 2% give their baby up for adoption (Kelly, 1996).
Another notable difference between 1974 and 1994 is the number of single teen women keeping their baby: 25% in 1974 compared to 81% in 1994. It should be noted that Statistics Canada considers a person living common law as a single person. This definition makes it difficult to determine how many of these women were living on their own.
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