Topeka ? Fewer Kansas teens are giving birth, a sign advocates say points to successful efforts to educate teenagers about the risks of underage sex.

But the battle isn’t over, they say, noting that the teen pregnancy rate is still relatively high among minorities and the poor.

In Kansas, teen pregnancy rates in 2003 were 9.4 pregnancies per 1,000 girls age 10-17 for whites; 21.6 for blacks; and 23.6 for Hispanics. While those numbers have steadily declined since 1994, improvements in the rates for Hispanics have lagged.

Silvia Henriquez, executive director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, said a lot of factors played into the higher teen pregnancy rate, not just cultural issues. Poverty and lack of access to information, partly because of language barriers, particularly contribute, she said.

“Often there is nothing in place to make sure that new immigrants are getting the information in Spanish or in a culturally relevant way,” she said.

She also noted that most Hispanics teenagers are in schools that don’t give them information about contraceptives and that Hispanics who lack health coverage have limited access to reproductive health information.

Henriquez said nationally, 51 percent of Hispanic females give birth by age 20, compared with 35 percent for non-Hispanics.

Comprehensive plan best

Advocates have no simple explanation for the overall improvement in teen pregnancy rates, but say a comprehensive program seems to work best.

Deb Rukes, director of the Topeka YWCA Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, said the reality was teens were having sex and they needed to know about contraceptives.

“We really target seventh and eighth graders. The hormones are kicking in and they’re starting to experiment,” Rukes said. “Waiting until high school is too late.”

Linda Kenney, bureau of children, youth and families director for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said no one factor could explain the improving situation.

“To some extent it’s the ability to reach out to them through community organizations,” Kenney said.

Real pressures

Bill Albert of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy said one in five teens have sex before age 15. He said those who are sexually active tend to smoke, drink alcohol or do illicit drugs, behaviors compounded by peer pressure and that often lead to bad decisions.

Alicia Nelson, 15, a sophomore at Topeka’s Shawnee Heights High School, said the pressures were real.

“It seems like in some groups you have to have sex to be accepted,” Nelson said. “If you surround yourself with the right people you’ll be all right.”

Gary Brunk, executive director of Kansas Action for Children, said teens made better choices when they believed they had a future. Pregnancy can destroy goals, he said, and often continues a cycle of poverty.

“I think there’s greater awareness. It’s a good trend and I’m happy to see it,” Brunk said.

Shanice Newman, 17, of Topeka, became pregnant when she was 15. Her life changed when her son, Shawn, was born.

“When you have the baby, your friends disappear all the sudden,” Newman said. “It’s really tough. Before you get pregnant you think that it’s easy.”

Newman has family to help her with Shawn and she plans to finish her education.

Albert said teens consistently said parents did influence their decisions.

“Parents feel they have lost control or are usurped by peers and popular culture,” Albert said.

Nelson said teens shouldn’t feel that if they talk with their parents about sex that it implies they are sexually active.

“Some kids are terrified to talk about it,” she said.