Teen Pregnancy in Mississippi: A History and Analysis of Recent Legislative and Governmental Attempts to Address Different Aspects of this Issue in Mississippi.

Background Mississippi has one of the highest teen pregnancy and birth rates in the nation. From 1991 to 2014 the birthrate to Mississippi teens decreased by 55 percent, which ranks number 35 in the rate of decline (versus 61% nationally). However, in 2014 Mississippi's teen birth rate still kept it at number 48 out of 50 states.' Mississippi has implemented Healthy Teens for a Better Mississippi as a Governor's initiative and best practice programs to reduce teen pregnancy in the state of Mississippi. Several bills have been passed into law that address various aspects of teen pregnancy prevention. Methods Recent legislation implemented from 2011 to 2015 was reviewed and summarized. Results and Conclusions Teen births have decreased 55 percent from 1991 to 2014. It is not possible to point to any one factor that can explain this reduction. It is likely that many factors have affected this change in teen pregnancy and birth rates. It is still too early to be able to assess the effect of the various laws that have been passed to address teen pregnancy.