Reducing Teen Pregnancy

Key Facts & Trends

The rate of teen pregnancies in the U.S. has declined in the last two decades but is still among the highest in the Western world. Prevention of teen pregnancy is an important public health objective, and despite the progress of recent years, much remains to be done.

 

  • Teens are waiting longer to have sex than they did in the past.  In 2002, 13 percent of females and 15 percent of males aged 15-19 had sex before age 15, compared with 19 percent and 21 percent, respectively, in 1995.  Still, almost half (46 percent) of all 15-19-year-olds in the United States have had sex at least once, and by the time they reach age 19, seven in 10 teens have engaged in sexual intercourse.
  • Many students graduate from high school without having had a comprehensive sexual education course. Extensive research has demonstrated that abstinence only sex education programs do not delay the onset of sexual activity.
  • The rate of teen pregnancy for women aged 15-19 has declined by 36 percent since its peak in 1990, but almost 750,000 women aged 15-19 still become pregnant each year. Overall, 75 pregnancies occur every year per 1,000 women aged 15-19. Nearly a third of all teen pregnancies end in abortion.
  • Despite the long-term decline in the rate of teen pregnancy, 11 percent of all U.S. births are to teens.
  • Teen pregnancy rates in the U.S. are still much higher than in many other developed countries: twice as high as Canada and eight times as high as in the Netherlands.
  • Preliminary birth statistics for 2006 indicate that the teen birth rate rose for the first time since 1991.  The birth rate for teenagers aged 15-19 rose 3 percent.
  • Of the 18.9 million new cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the U.S. each year, 9.1 million (48 percent) occur among 15-24-year-olds. 

Policy Implications

Prevention of teenage pregnancy, despite recent gains in reducing the rate of teenage pregnancy, is still an important public health goal.

 

  • Babies born to teens are more likely to be low-birth-weight than are those born to women in their 20s and 30s.
  • Teen mothers are less likely than women who delay childbearing to go on to college.
  • Reducing teen pregnancies is critical to reducing teen abortions.  Almost a third of all teen pregnancies end in abortion.
  • Sex education and access to contraceptive services also help to reduce sexually transmitted infections (STIs).