U.S. TEENAGE PREGNANCY RATE NOW LOWEST IN TWO DECADES Analysis Examines Factors Behind Drop in Numbers and Rates

Source from(http://www.guttmacher.org/media/nr/grnr0105.html)

The 1995 U.S. teenage pregnancy rate--101 pregnancies per 1,000 females aged 15-19--is the lowest rate since 1975, according to The Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI). After peaking in 1990 at 117, the pregnancy rate fell 14% in the first half of this decade. The number of teenage pregnancies in 1995-- 916, 630--is the lowest recorded since 1973, when there were 889,980. (Pregnancy figures include births, abortions and miscarriages; complete teenage pregnancy data were first calculated in 1973 when comprehensive abortion data became available.) Moreover, recently released 1997 preliminary data for births only suggest that the drop in teenage pregnancy in this country is continuing.

A special analysis examining contributing factors to the drop in teenage pregnancy rates in the 1990s--"Falling Teen Pregnancy, Birthrates: What's Behind the Declines?" by Patricia Donovan, senior associate for law and public policy with AGI--is published in the October 1998 issue of the Institute's bimonthly policy review, The Guttmacher Report on Public Policy. It builds upon 1995 teenage pregnancy data released today in the report, U.S. Teenage Pregnancy Statistics, by Stanley Henshaw, AGI's deputy director of research.

"While the trends are encouraging, we must not forget that the pregnancy and birthrates for U.S. teenagers are still extraordinarily high compared with rates for teenagers in other industrialized countries," comments Donovan.

According to the analysis, recent national survey data point to two key factors that have contributed to the decline in teenage pregnancy: Fewer teens are having sex and more adolescents are using contraceptives. Both the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) and the 1997 Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that the steady increase in the previous two decades in the proportion of young women who reported having had intercourse has stopped. The 1995 NSFG also revealed an increase in the proportion of female adolescents who reported using a contraceptive at first intercourse (primarily condoms). In addition, there was a smaller increase between 1982 and 1995 in the proportion of teens who reported currently using a contraceptive method.

Donovan notes that researchers attribute the recent trends in sexual activity and contraceptive use to a confluence of factors:

• greater emphasis on delaying sexual activity;

• more conservative attitudes among teenagers about casual sex and out-of-wedlock childbearing;

• fear of sexually transmitted diseases, especially AIDS;

• the popularity of the long-lasting contraceptive methods, such as the implant (Norplant) and the injectable (Depo-Provera), and possibly more consistent or correct use of other contraceptive methods; and,

• a strong economy, with better job prospects for young people.

"The key is to adopt policies that will sustain the downward trends in teenage pregnancy and birthrates," Donovan asserts. "Since messages about abstinence and consistent contraceptive use appear to be having an impact on teens, it is essential that adolescents continue to receive both."

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Celebrating its 30th Anniversary, The Alan Guttmacher Institute is a not-for-profit organization focused on reproductive health research, policy analysis and public education, with offices in New York City and Washington, D.C.