Declines in teen pregnancies: What are the driving factors?

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Three in every 10 American girls get pregnant by the age of 20. However, national government and health experts expect these numbers to decrease with stringent legislative support and parental reinforcement. True enough, this optimism is becoming evident in recent years.

Although 16 states had a slight increase in teenage pregnancies between 2005 and 2008 from previous years, this is still considered an all-time low. While this information is from 2008 (the latest year for which comprehensive statistics are available), records suggest that, the downturn will generally continue several more years ahead.

Key factors driving the decade-long declines

Guttmacher Senior Researcher Laura Lindberg said: "It is now the norm for teens to use contraceptives at first sex, which creates a pattern of continued contraceptive use down the road. Additionally, teens increasingly use the most effective birth-control methods, including hormonal methods and long-acting contraceptive methods like the IUD. By contrast, there has been less change in teens' levels of sexual activity."

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Good news for teens

This recent declines are great news since teenage pregnancy can be considered high-risk in nature. Pregnancy experts, like Cristian Andronic and Michael R. Leb would agree that girls have the higher risk of having premature birth, low-birth-weight babies, and high blood pressure --- called pregnancy-induced hypertension. Avoiding early pregnancy means avoiding these risks, altogether.

With unity and cooperation, teenage pregnancy is a ‘battle’ that the entire society can win together.

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This Twitter page links to more articles on high-risk pregnancies and related topics.

Plan B: New York's emergency contraceptive for teens

Teen pregnancy and teen birth rates have steadily declined since 2008, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the number of teen pregnancy cases in the US is still nine times higher than in other developed countries. This lays the ground for the government to initiate concrete actions to contain teenage pregnancy rate at a standstill.

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In January 2011, New York City launched a program dispensing free prescription contraceptives, including the emergency contraceptive pill called Plan B, to students in a number of public high schools.

The Department of Health and Human Services restricted the over-the-counter distribution of the morning-after pill to girls younger than 17. However, the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) ascertained that the drug is safe and effective for younger girls, and that they’re also capable of using Plan B properly, without the help of doctors. Consequently, following a judge’s decision to rule out age restrictions for those purchasing Plan B, pharmacies are now free to dispense the pill to “all females of child-bearing potential,” even without a prescription.

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While some experts disagree with the judge’s ruling, others see it as an opportunity to increase awareness on safe sex, teen pregnancy, and health. Dr. Daniel Grossman, vice president of research at Ibis Reproductive Health, hopes that the judge’s ruling will “increase access to all modes of contraceptives, including an eventual over-the-counter availability for daily birth control.”

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Dr. Cristian Andronic is a board-certified ob-gyn. This Facebook page shares more helpful resources about pregnancy.