Teen Birthrate Hits Record Low: 25 Percent Decline in Overall Teen Birthrate Since 2007

For those of us who love to occasionally indulge in the television show "Teen Mom," (only to whisper under our breath, repeatedly, thank sweet baby Jesus that's not me), there's some new stats out there on could-have-been, would-have-been teen mothers, showing that maybe these young ladies are practicing some more common sense than previously thought.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the teen birthrate in 2011 set another new record low. The new rate, 31.3 births per 1,000 women ages 15-19, is about half the 1991 rate of 61.8 births per 1,000 teens, which was previously at an all-time high.

The teen birthrate hit its peak in1991, and has been dropping steadily since. The new report shows particularly steep drops, with a 25 percent decline in the overall teen birthrate just since 2007.

During 2007-11, teen birthrates fell at least 15 percent for all but two states -- North Dakota and West Virginia. Rates fell 30 percent or more in seven states, with the largest drops -- 35 percent each -- in Arizona and Utah.

In that same period, the three largest population groups all experienced declines in their teen birthrates, with Hispanic teens dropping the most at 34 percent, followed by declines of 24 percent among blacks and 20 percent for whites.

The new federal data also show a drop in the overall number of teen births. The 329,797 babies born to mothers ages 15-19 reflects a 26 percent decline since 2007.

The only downside is we'll miss some of our crazy, abusive, porn-star teen mothers on television. Yet, in the end, maybe more positive, mature motherhood outranks media.