Why is Teenage Pregnancy Declining? The role of Abstinence, Sexual Activity and Contraceptive Use.


 

Publication Date: December 1999

Publisher: Guttmacher Institute

Author(s): Jacqueline E. Darroch

Research Area: Population and demographics; Social conditions

Type: Report

Abstract:

The 1990s have witnessed sustained declines in teenage
birthrates, a heartening development in view of the often negative effects of adolescent childbearing on young women and their children and the costs to society as a whole.1 Teenage births should not be the only
concern, however. More than three-quarters of pregnancies among teenagers each year are unintended, and more than one-quarter end in abortion;2 therefore, helping young women avoid an unintended pregnancy is also an important public policy goal. Here, again, the news is encouraging: The teenage pregnancy rate also dropped in the 1990s.