Teen pregnancy down significantly in Berks and Reading

Jun. 21—A years-long effort to shrink the number of pregnancies among Berks County teens appears to be working.

At a press conference Tuesday morning at the Berks County Community Foundation, officials from Berks Teens announced that recently released state data show significant drops in the number of pregnancies among women ages 15 to 19 in the county and in Reading.

According to the state Department of Health, teen pregnancies dropped by just under 50% in the county between 2012 and 2020. Teen pregnancies dropped by about 44% in Reading over that same span.

"We did it," Carolyn Bazik, executive director of Co-County Wellness Services, said.

Co-County Wellness has been at the forefront of a concerted effort to improve the teen pregnancy rate in Berks.

Bazik explained that the effort began after a community health needs assessment in 2012 showed teen pregnancies were a major problem that needed to be tackled. At that time, the birth rates for teens in the county and city far outpaced state and national averages.

According to data from the Department of Health, in 2012 the number of teen pregnancies per 1,000 was 36 in Berks and 67.8 in Reading. The national rate that year was 29.4, and the state rate was just 19.

Bazik said Co-County started the Berks Teens initiative in 2014 — originally called Berks Teens Matter — in an attempt to rein in the problem, setting a goal of decreasing teen pregnancy by 40% by 2022.

"There had never been any programs in our community aimed at primary teen pregnancy prevention or programs that taught youth the importance of postponing pregnancy until they were emotionally and financially capable," Bazik said.

The effort to create those types of programs would be collaborative, with nearly 30 local organizations, groups and political leaders lending support. Some of those groups include the United Way of Berks County, The Wyomissing Foundation, Berks Community Foundation, Reading School District and state Sen. Judy Schwank.

The goal of Berks Teens was to raise awareness about the impacts of teen pregnancy and provide teens with factual, useful sexual education.

Some of the ways that was accomplished were through the creation of a peer education group at Reading High, as well as a virtual, countywide group; the opening of the Health Resource Center at Reading High; and training programs aimed at adults that tackled subjects like talking to teens about sex and pregnancy.

Bazik said it was quickly apparent the Berks Teens initiative was working, with teen pregnancy data in the county and city improving year by year.

"Our efforts were taking hold," she said.

And, when the state released its most recent data for 2020, it was clear the initiative has been a roaring success.

"Berks Teens has exceeded its goal," Bazik said.

According to state data, the total number of children born to teenagers in Berks has dropped from 455 in 2012 to 228 in 2020. In Reading, the number has dropped from 277 in 2012 to 155 in 2020.

The county's birth rate per 1,000 of 15.5 now falls in line with the national teen birth rate of 15.4. It is still slightly higher than the statewide rate of 12.6.

A quick celebration, then back to work

Tuesday's announcement was certainly cause for celebration, as well as praise for Co-County's leadership.

Pat Giles, vice president of The Wyomissing Foundation, said Berks had been an anomaly with teen pregnancy rates that far exceeded national and state rates for decades.

"So what changed?" she asked. "Co-County Wellness Services decided enough is enough and stood up and said we as a county must do better."

Giles said the success of Berks Teens shows what can be accomplished when a community rallies to address a clear problem.

"We know we can make a difference when we all come together," she said, adding the initiative's success can be a model for tackling other issues.

Tammy White, president of United Way of Berks County, shared a similar sentiment, saying Berks Teens is a wonderful demonstration of what can happen when the community comes together to change the trajectory of the lives of young people.

"We know it has made a tremendous difference, and the work must go on," she said.

White's call to continue the fight to lower teen pregnancy rates was echoed by several speakers.

Monica Reyes, health and human services program officer at the community foundation, said the foundation has provided more than $430,000 to the effort since 2012. And, she added, now is not the time to cut that off.

"It's important that we don't relax our support" she said.

Giles said that despite the positive progress, there are still a lot of teens who need help and guidance.

"Let's not ignore the fact that there are still too many teen pregnancies taking place in Berks County," she said.

Bazik said Co-County Wellness is taking a moment to bask in the success of the teen pregnancies effort — but just one moment.

"Tomorrow, the team gets back to work," she said.