Teen Pregnancy

According to the latest CDC Vital Signs report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, teen births continue to decline in the U.S., but still more than 273,000 infants were born to teens ages 15 to 19 in 2013. Childbearing during the teen years can carry health, economic, and social costs for mothers and their children. The good news is that more teens are waiting to have sex, and of those who are sexually active, nearly 90 percent used birth control the last time they had sex. Data show that teens most often use condoms and birth control pills which, when not used consistently and correctly, are less effective for preventing pregnancy.

• The most effective types of birth control are implants and intrauterine devices (or IUDs); these are also called Long-Acting Reversible Contraception, or LARC.
• LARC is safe to use, does not require taking a pill every day or doing something every time before having sex, and, depending on the method, can be used to prevent pregnancy for three to 10 years.
• Less than one percent of LARC users become pregnant during the first year of use.

Increasing access to LARC is a key action for further reducing teen pregnancy.  Doctors and other health care professionals can do more to help by offering a broad range of birth control options for sexually active teens, including LARC, and discussing the pros and cons of each.  Parents, care givers, and other trusted adults, should talk openly with their teens about sex and encourage them to not have sex. If their teens choose to be sexually active, they can also help them access and use the most effective types of birth control to prevent pregnancy  and to also use condoms to protect against sexually transmitted diseases. Learn more at Preventing Teen Pregnancy.

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