Teenage pregnancy; Pregnancy - teenage
Prevention
There are many different kinds of teen pregnancy prevention programs.
Abstinence education programs encourage young people to postpone sexual activity until marriage, or until they are mature enough to handle sexual activity, and a potential pregnancy, in a responsible manner.
Knowledge-based programs focus on teaching adolescents about their bodies and their normal functions, as well as provide detailed information about contraceptives and preventing STDs. Research indicates that abstinence-only education without information about contraception does not decrease teen pregnancy rates, but knowledge-based programs do reduce rates.
Clinic-focused programs provide easier access to information, counseling by health care providers, and contraceptive services. Many of these programs are offered through school-based clinics.
Peer counseling programs typically involve older teens, who encourage other adolescents to resist peer and social pressures to become sexually involved. These programs tend to take a personal approach, helping teens understand their own risks. For teens who are already sexually active, peer counseling programs also provide negotiation skills for relationships and the information they need to get and successfully use contraceptives.
References
U.S. Teenage Pregnancy Statistics: Overall Trends, Trends by Race and Ethnicity and State-by-State Information . New York, NY: The Alan Guttmacher Institute; 2004.
Eifenbein DS, Felice ME, Jenkins RR. Adolescent pregnancy. In: Kliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB, Stanton BF, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier;2007:chap 117.
Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Sutton PD, et al. Births. Final data for 2006. National Vital Statistics Reports. 2009;57(7).
Klein JD and the committee on adolescence. Adolescent pregnancy: Current trends and issues. Pediatrics. 2005;116:281-286.
Kohler PK, Manhart LE, Lafferty WE. Abstinence-only and comprehensive sex education and the initiation of sexual activity and teen pregnancy. J Adolesc Health. 2008;42:344-351.
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Review Date: 09/02/2009
Reviewed By: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of
Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington School of
Medicine; and Susan Storck, MD, FACOG, Chief, Eastside Department
of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Group Health Cooperative of Puget
Sound, Redmond, Washington; Clinical Teaching Faculty, Department
of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Washington School of
Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director,
A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
