Recent Increase in Contraception Use Noted Among U.S. Teenagers

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 5, 2018 — Among U.S. adolescents, there were increases in contraceptive use from 2007 to 2014, including dual-method use and long-acting reversible contraception, according to a study published in the August issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Laura D. Lindberg, Ph.D., from The Guttmacher Institute in New York City, and colleagues used national data on behaviors of female teenagers aged 15 to 19 years to estimate trends in pregnancy risk from 2007 to 2014.

The researchers observed increases in use of one or more contraceptive methods at last sex (78 to 88 percent), dual-method use (24 to 33 percent), long-acting reversible contraception, including intrauterine device and implant (1 to 7 percent), withdrawal (15 to 26 percent), and withdrawal in combination with other methods (7 to 17 percent) in 2007 to 2014. There was an increase in pill use, which then decreased. Over time, there was no change in the level of sexual activity. Among 15- to 19-year-olds, the reduction in pregnancy risk was entirely due to improvements in contraceptive use.

“Improvements in contraceptive use — including increases in use of long-acting reversible contraception and withdrawal in combination with another method — appear to be driving recent declines in adolescent birth and pregnancy rates,” the authors write.

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Posted: September 2018

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