Each month the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hosts a Public Health Grand Round webcast focused on a particular health topic. The health issue topic for next month is teen pregnancy.

In 2011, the Florida’s teen birth rate was 29.1 births per 1,000 women aged 15-19 years, lower than the U.S. rate of 31.3. Northeast Florida’s teen birth rate has been historically higher than both the state and national rates, but was down to 31.3 — even with the national rate — in 2011. Teen birth rates do not reflect all teen pregnancies, however. The Guttmacher Institute estimates that teen births reflect only 55 percent of teen pregnancies, with abortion and miscarriage comprising the remainder.

In response to the teen pregnancy rates, the Northeast Florida Healthy Start Coalition implemented the 4Me Teen Health Project , a community initiative and sex education/prevention program. The Coalition also launched, BrdsNBz NE Florida, a free anonymous text message service providing teens 12-18 years old with confidential and factually accurate answers to sexual health questions.

The CDC’s Teen Pregnancy Grand Round will be held from 1-2 p.m. March 19. For more information on the webcast visit the Grand Rounds website here.