Tulsa Co. Teen Pregnancies Dramatically Decline, Remain Above National Average

New data shows Tulsa County’s teen pregnancies have dramatically declined over the past 10 years, but experts said there is still work to be done.

Amplify reported that from 2009 and 2019, Tulsa County alone had a teen birth rate of 24.5 per 1,000 females, which is extremely high from the US rate of 16.6. 

Tulsa Public Schools said they have seen an increase in students in need of parenting resources since the district went back to in-person learning, although, Amplify said they have seen a 57 percent decrease in teen pregnancies in the past decade.

Heather Duvall, the Executive Director of Amplify, said the emphasis on sex education, especially during the pandemic, has kept rates down.

"It was a heroic effort from these partners to make sure that sex-ed still continued during this school year in the virtual space," Duvall said. 

Joya Cleveland is the Program Manager for TPS' Strong Tomorrow Program, a student service that helps students get ready to become parents and incentivizes students to maintain good grades.

Cleveland said there's an everyday reward to helping young parents with their goals. She said if there's one word to describe the kids she works with, it's resilient.

"To see that what some may think of pregnancy as a swing at them negatively, they take it as an opportunity to either strengthen their goal-making and increase what they need to do for their future," Cleveland said. 

If you would like to know more information or resources on dealing with teen pregnancy, we have links to Amplify and Strong Tomorrow's websites here.