The Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced teen births have reached a new historic low in Chicago. In 2016, the most recent year for which data are available, there were 24.6 births per 1,000 females aged 15-19. This is a 10.5 percent decline when compared to a year earlier and a 47 percent decline since 2011 when Mayor Emanuel first took office. Declines have been seen across every ethnic group, with the greatest declines among Chicago’s African American teens, who historically faced the greatest disparities. Teen birth rates among African American teens have been cut in half in just five years, from 64.2 in 2011 to 32.0 in 2016. Even with this progress, disparities persist. African American and Latina teens are more than five times as likely to experience a birth than white teens. Though Chicago’s teen birth rate is higher than the national average, that gap is also closing as Chicago has experienced a nearly 70 percent decline since 2000, compared to just a 57 percent decline nationwide. Research has consistently shown that teen birth and unintended pregnancies increase the chance of low birth weight and infant mortality. For the latest teen birth rate data visit www.chicagohealthatlas.org.