SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District is showing progress in its attempt to reduce teen pregnancy.
Local teens from Metro Health's Project Worth program shared the latest information during a press conference Tuesday at the Central Library.
The 2016 data shows teen births continue to decrease for the eighth consecutive year.
San Antonio's teen birth rate for females ages 15 to 19 in 2016 was 30.2 per 1,000 live births, a decline of 53 percent since 2006.
Health officials said there is still a lot of work to be done.
"That tells us that the strategies that we had in place that include effective programming in school and after-school programs, strengthening child communication are working in our community," said Metro Health interim assistant director Mario Martinez.
Despite the decline, the 2016 teen birth rate in San Antonio was still nearly 50 percent higher than the national rate of 20.3 per 1,000 live births.
"There is a challenge ahead of us, and that is our repeat teen pregnancy," Martinez said. "In that arena, we have not seen a change in over the last four to five years."
For more information and a detailed 2016 Teen Pregnancy Report and fact sheet, click here.