Teen births in the United States reached a record low in 2009, as births to teenagers fell 6 percent from the previous year.

The birth rate for teens aged 15 to 19 dropped to 39.1 births per 1,000 teens in 2009, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“One of the biggest highlights is the continuing decline in teen births — down to record lows,” said report co-author, Brady Hamilton, a statistician at CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.

This number is the lowest level seen in almost seven decades

The decline in teen pregnancy is mainly because of a decrease in intercourse and increase in contraception.

“That doesn’t mean decreases in sexual activity, but just alternate intimacies that teenagers are discovering or rediscovering,” said Dr. Lawrence B. Friedman, a professor of pediatrics and director of the division of adolescent medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.   “There is also increased use of effective contraception.”

In fact, the number of total births has also declined for the second year in a row, with the number of births falling from 4,247,694 in 2008 to 4,131,019 in 2009.

The CDC doesn’t suggest causes for their findings of this decrease but Hamilton said the ailing economy may be partly responsible for the lower overall birth rate.

More women are waiting longer to have babies, and factors such as education and career choices account for some of the delayed births. 

“In addition, technology has allowed women to give birth later in life,” he said.

“People are getting pregnant later,” said Dr. Leo B. Twiggs, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. “And the birth rate is also falling due to the economic downturn.”

Other highlights of the report from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics:

•           The fertility rate dropped for the second straight year, falling from 68.6 births per 1,000 women in 2008 to 66.7 in 2009.

•           The proportion of births to unmarried mothers increased to 41 percent of all births from 40.6 percent in 2008, but the total number of births to unmarried women fell for the first time since 1997.

•           The birth rate for women in their early 20s fell 7 percent last year, the largest drop since 1973. A decline was also noted for women in their late 20s and 30s.

•           The birth rate increased for women in their early 40s.

•           Preterm births dropped for the third straight year to less than 12.2 percent.

•           Cesarean deliveries rose to a record high of 32.9 percent in 2009, up from 32.3 a year earlier.

•           Low birth weight deliveries remained almost the same at less than 8.2 percent in 2009, down slightly from the record high of 8.3 in 2006.

For more information on birth rates, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.