Yakima Picked For Teen-Pregnancy Study

Yakima’s high teenage pregnancy rate - nearly twice the state average - made it the only rural community nationwide selected for a two-year study examining teen pregnancy, officials said.

The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chose 13 communities nationally for the study. In Yakima, the study will be conducted by Planned Parenthood of Central Washington, which was given a $400,000 grant from the CDC.

Researchers will spend the first year identifying factors contributing to Yakima’s high teen pregnancy rate, then develop a plan to combat it.

In 1993, teens gave birth to 739 babies in Yakima County, with 448 of those involving mothers 17 and younger, state statistics show.

The pregnancy rate among girls 15 to 17 years old in Yakima County was 9.1 pregnancies per 100 girls in that age group, compared with the statewide rate of 5.5 pregnancies per 100 girls in that age group, state statistics show.