New Study Finds MTV’s 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom Contributed to Record Decline in U.S. Teen Childbearing Rate
Wellesley CollegeThe U.S. teen birth rate fell rapidly between 2008 and 2012. The Great Recession played the biggest role in the decline, explaining more than half of the drop, but a new study shows that that the timing of the introduction of MTV’s 16 and Pregnant also had a significant impact on the staggering drop in teen birth rates.