By the numbers
258: Teen births in Clark County in 2010.
120: Teen births in Clark County in 2015.
229,888: Teen births in the United States in 2015.
$9.4 billion: Money spent on teen childbearing in 2010.
Source: Clark County Combined Health District, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy
Healthy Springfield: About this series
Many readers responded to a report late last year that ranked Springfield as the least healthy city in Ohio. That response — including wanting to make a positive difference — prompted the Springfield News-Sun to take a closer look at the community’s health. This year the News-Sun will dig into the public health issues facing the city, including obesity and minority health disparities and efforts to improve them. Next month, the News-Sun will investigate school lunch programs and how they affect local students.
MORE ONLINE: For all of our Healthy Springfield content, including videos, photos and more stories, log on to SpringfieldNewsSun.com/healthy-springfield.
Unmatched coverage
The Springfield News-Sun provides complete coverage of important public health issues in Clark County, including recent stories on mental health care and earlier start times for high school students.
Healthy Springfield: About this series
Many readers responded to a report late last year that ranked Springfield as the least healthy city in Ohio. That response — including wanting to make a positive difference — prompted the Springfield News-Sun to take a closer look at the community’s health. This year the News-Sun will dig into the public health issues facing the city, including obesity and minority health disparities and efforts to improve them. Next month, the News-Sun will investigate school lunch programs and how they affect local students.
MORE ONLINE: For all of our Healthy Springfield content, including videos, photos and more stories, log on to SpringfieldNewsSun.com/healthy-springfield.
Unmatched coverage
The Springfield News-Sun provides complete coverage of important public health issues in Clark County, including recent stories on mental health care and earlier start times for high school students.
The number of teens giving birth in Clark County has been cut in half over the past five years, but it still ranks among the worst counties in Ohio for teen pregnancy rates.
The teen birth rate here dropped from about 54 births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 19 in 2010 — when Clark County ranked second in the state — to about 27 birth per 1,000 female teen last year.
But Clark County still ranked fifth overall in the 2016 County Health Rankings, which tracked teen births from 2007 to 2013.
>> RELATED: Grant will expand Clark County reproductive services
>> MORE COVERAGE: Teen births surge in Clark County after summer breaks
Teen pregnancies can cause short- and long-term problems for girls and boys, including physical and mental health, as well as a lack of social interaction and increased financial burden, Clark County Combined Health District Early Childhood Programs Director Lori Lambert said.
Teenage mothers are also less likely to have proper prenatal care and their children are three times more likely to be teen moms themselves, Lambert said. Most teen pregnancies are unplanned, but research shows about 20 percent are planned, she said.
“We want all pregnancies to be planned because they’re physically, socially and financially ready,” Lambert said. “They’re going to be able to provide much better for their child.”
Only 38 percent of mothers in Ohio who had a child before they turned 18 received their high school diploma by the age of 22, Lambert said.
However, 60 percent of mothers who gave birth at 18 or 19 earned their high school diploma, she said.
“Just a couple of years, it’s a huge difference,” Lambert said.
The teenage years aren’t the right time to start a family, said Bill Albert, a spokesman with the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.
“It truncates childhood for teenagers and it often doesn’t get their children off to a good start,” he said. “I think most agree that the teen years should be a time for education and finding your way in the world and having fun.”
‘Astounding’ progress, but no victory
Clark County saw 258 births for teens age 15 through 19 in 2010. Five years later, 120 births occurred in that age group in 2015.
That fits with the national trend. U.S. teen births rates dropped 64 percent between 1990 and 2014, according to the National Campaign. In 1990, nearly 117 teens gave birth for every 1,000 women ages 15 through 19. That rate dropped to about 24 in 2014, the campaign said.
It’s one of the nation’s great success stories over the past two decades, Albert said, with declines seen in all 50 states among all ethnic groups.
“It’s pretty astounding on an issue many once considered intractable,” Albert said.
However, about one in every four teen girls in the U.S. will still get pregnant at least once before the age of 20. Now is not the time to hang a “Mission Accomplished” banner, Albert said.
“It’s great when you work on an issue and you see progress, but we ought not confuse progress with victory,” he said.
The rates have decreased over the past two decades through a combination of teenagers having less sex and using more contraception, he said. Civic action, the recent economic downturn and increased use of low maintenance contraception have also played a role in the decline, Albert said.
Several studies have also showed teenagers who watched MTV hit shows such as Teen Mom and 16-and-Pregnant have also played a role in reducing the teen birth rate, Albert said.
“They see these as cautionary tales,” he said. “It’s sex education for the 20th century. They see them as far more sobering than salacious.”
Communities must continue to combat the problem, Albert said, regardless of the recent progress that’s been made. They must also focus on neighborhoods with the greatest need, including the black and Latino populations.
“There is no teen pregnancy vaccination,” Albert said.
One of the goals of the Clark County Combined Health District’s Healthy Births and Sexuality Task Force is to further reduce the teen birth rate. They are collecting data from schools to gauge the amount of sex education offered, which Lambert said varies by district.
“Parents need to know how much education their children are getting,” Lambert said.
She also cited more access to health care through the Affordable Care Act and easier access to education, including online, for the drop in teen pregnancies.
Parents should talk to their children about sex, Lambert said, and if they can’t, find someone who they’re more comfortable with.
“Hopefully families are talking to their kids with good information from a reliable source,” Lambert said. “If that’s not happening, then hopefully they’re accessing it a different way.”
‘It’s tough’
Four days shy of her 15th birthday, Springfield resident Jaimie Hamilton gave birth to her oldest son, Matthew. The peak of teen pregnancy rates in the U.S. was 1990, the same year her son was born.
The following year, Hamilton graduated early from North High School, but she said it wasn't easy. Her father worked second shift and would change diapers and feed the baby in the middle of the night so she could sleep. The school also allowed her to take study hall during her last period so she could leave school early to care for the baby.
“If you don’t have family in that situation, you won’t make it,” she said.
During school, she also worked a part-time job to help care for her son, missing out on parties with her friends. She spent all of her free time at home with her son.
“It felt like we grew up together, too,” Hamilton said. “That’s why we’re so close. It’s tough.”
Hamilton remembers receiving some sex education, but it’s nothing like today with reality shows outlining the struggles teen moms face each day.
“You didn’t know what to expect,” Hamilton said.
She also attended Clark State Community College and has worked at Cascade Corporation for the past 18 years.
“You have to be willing to try to make something of yourself, even though it’s hard,” Hamilton said.
Matthew, 25, is now an Air Force veteran, and her younger son, Andrew, 19, is also in the Air Force.
“I was lucky,” Hamilton said. “It makes you feel proud, not just me, my entire family. They all feel like they’ve raised my kids. I definitely couldn’t have done it without them.”
Getting help
The Clark County health district received a $375,000 grant earlier this year from the Ohio Department of Health to expand its reproductive health and wellness services over the next five years. The district started in July holding dedicated hours for reproductive services, including walk-ins on Monday and appointments on Thursday.
The program is open to the public, Health District Nursing Supervisor Kitty Smith said, and can be used by teens 13 and older in need of education or contraceptives, including long-acting, reversible contraceptives, such as an implant or an intrauterine device. Many teens might not have access to care, Smith said.
“We hope young people will feel this is a good place for them to go,” Smith said. “It’s convenient and available.”
The district will accept insurance from many providers, and offers sliding-scale fees based on income and household size.
Planned Parenthood also has a teen clinic at its Springfield location, 1061 N. Bechtle Ave. The organization received about $138,000 in federal money over a three-year period to prevent teen pregnancies for ages 14 to 18. The program provided counseling to more than 80 young people in the past year, including 40 doses of emergency contraceptives and 20 long-acting, reversible contraceptives.
One percent
At 17, Jessy Morris gave birth to her daughter, Sadee. She got pregnant despite taking birth control, she said.
“Birth control is not 100 percent effective,” Morris said. “There’s still that tiny chance of getting pregnant. I was that 1 percent.”
She was already on a path to graduate early from Springfield-Clark Career Technical Center when she found out she was pregnant. After giving birth to Sadee, she became pregnant again four months later. Another daughter, Alee, followed.
Morris’ social life changed, she said, and she lost several friends because she wasn’t able to hang out any longer.
“They always say when you want to find out who your friends are, have kids,” Morris said.
Two years later, she obtained her Associate’s degree from Clark State and currently works as a social worker at McKinley Hall. She gets lots of help from family on both sides.
“I don’t know what I would’ve done without them,” Morris said.
The best advice Morris can give to teenagers now is simple — wait.
“Please wait (to have sex),” she said. “Wait, be safe.”
She also recommends using birth control to decrease the chances of getting pregnant.
A lot of good local resources are available for pregnant teens, she said. While parenting at a young age is a big challenge, Morris said you can achieve your goals.
“I don’t want them to give up or think there’s nothing they can do about it or think their life is over because they’re young,” Morris said.
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