PORTLAND, Maine (AP) _ U.S. Census figures show Maine's teen birth rate dropped by nearly half what it were a decade ago, and the state now ranks with New Hampshire and Vermont among the 10 states with the lowest teen birth rates in the country.
The Portland Press Herald reports that Maine's rate of 1.2 births per 100 women for ages 15-19 is nearly half of what it was a decade ago, when there were 2.1 births per 100 women in that age group. That rate ranks Maine as having the sixth lowest teen birthrate in the country, according to census data released earlier this week.
New Hampshire ranks first as having the lowest teen birthrate of .9 percent. Vermont ranks fourth with a teen birth rate of 1.1 percent.