The Tribune

THE BAHAMAS recorded a significant decrease in births to teen mothers over the last four decades, according to a new report. The Department of Statistics study said births to teenagers have dropped by 14 per cent, per thousand Bahamians. However, the report also shows births to unwed mothers shot up over the same period by 33 per cent. In a statement to the press, the department revealed the findings of its Births Report for the Bahamas, which focused on the reproductive trends and patterns of the country over a 40-year period. It said: "The birth rate to teen mothers 10 to 19 years of age has decreased significantly, from a high of 32.4 in 1970 to a low of 17.6 births per 1,000 females in 2010. "Births to unwed mothers escalated during the past 40 years, from 29 per cent in 1970, to a high of 62 per cent in 2009. Births to this cohort of mothers remained the largest annual natural increase to the Bahamian population," it said. The department's report also revealed that reproductivity among Bahamians has decreased by 13 per cent over the period in question. "The Bahamas recorded its highest reproductive rates in 1970, when the birth rate peaked at 28.8 or nearly 29 live born children per thousand population. This rate steadily declined to 15.5 in 2010. Women between the ages of 20 and 29 accounted for the largest proportion of births." According to the department, women in 1970 were expected to have an average of four live born children throughout their childbearing years. "Four decades later, with a population more than doubled, the number of children to women has decreased to two during their life time," the report said. The study concluded that births by foreign women have decreased by 12 per cent since 1970, and that in 2010, "the Bahamas recorded 61 stillbirths (or fetal deaths)" - 56 per cent lower than in 1970. All the statistics in the report are measured per thousand Bahamians.