(Undated) - Fewer teens in the Bluegrass State are having babies, but Kentucky still has one of the highest rates in the nation. 

The state ranked seventh-highest nationally for teen births in 2009, with 51.3 per 1,000 girls age 15-19 according to data released this month by the National Center for Birth Statistics.

Yet it's a seven percent decrease from 2008 for Kentucky. 

Officials say the high rate of poverty is one of the reasons for the higher teen birth rate. 

Indiana registered 42.5 births per 1,000 girls in 2009, compared to 43.7 in 2008. Ohio had 38.9 births, a decline of about two percent from 2008.

The national average fell to an all-time low during the 70 years such data has been tracked with 39.1 births per 1,000. The figure is down from 41.5 in 2008.