US teen birthrate hits low

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The United States' teen birthrate hit an all-time low last year - a decline that stunned experts.

The birth rate fell to 39 births per 1000 girls aged 15 to 19, said a government report released yesterday. It was a 6 per cent decline from the previous year and the lowest rate since health officials started tracking that data in 1940.

Experts say the recent recession - from December 2007 to June 2009 - was a major factor driving down births overall, and experts say there's a good reason to think it would affect would-be teen mothers. But the US teen birthrate continues to be far higher than that of 16 other developed countries, according to a 2007 United Nations report.