Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data on birth rates for 2013. The biggest headline is that America’s birthrate hit a historic low — bad news for a country faced with a government budget crunch and poorly funded entitlement systems. America needs a healthy birthrate for many reasons, including development of the next generation of workers and taxpayers to keep our economy going.

But hidden in the report is some good news. Births to teenage mothers decreased 10 percent from 2012 to 2013, continuing the downward trend of recent years. The rate of premature births also decreased slightly nationwide and now stands at 11.39 percent. Healthcare professionals should take pride in this statistic. Surely, part of the reason for these falling numbers is their hard work helping mothers carry babies to term.