DETROIT, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Data Driven Detroit said a study has found the birthrate among teenagers in Detroit has increased following a period of decreases.
The Detroit Free Press said the study released Wednesday indicates that during a three-year period ending in 2007, as much as 25 percent of births in some Detroit neighborhoods have been to women under the age of 20.
The study, additional details of which were not reported, has left experts struggling to determine why the teenage birthrate in the Michigan city increased after a 15-year period of decreases.
Jane Zehnder-Merrell, the Michigan League for Human Services' director of research, said the birthrate increases could be related to cutbacks in outreach programs in Detroit.
Kara Anderson, the head of the Michigan Department of Community Health's teen pregnancy prevention programs, told the Free Press that teenagers face an uphill climb as parents.
"It's not always grim and there are great teen moms," Anderson said. "But the odds are stacked against you if you're a teen mom."
