National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month
May is National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month (NTPPM). This annual campaign is “designed to help communities recognize that the effects of unintended teen pregnancy and early childbearing are far-reaching.”
Teens need proper education and instruction on the importance of reproductive health.
The Guttmacher Institute has provided these facts:
- Each year, almost 750,000 women aged 15–19 become pregnant. Overall, 71.5 pregnancies per 1,000 women aged 15–19 occurred in 2006; the rate declined 41% from its peak in 1990 to a low of 69.5 in 2005.
- The majority of the decline in teen pregnancy rates is due to more consistent contraceptive use; the rest is due to higher proportions of teens choosing to delay sexual activity.
- However, for the first time since the early 1990s, overall teen pregnancy rates increased in 2006, rising 3%. It is too soon to tell whether this reversal is simply a short-term fluctuation or the beginning of a long-term increase.
- Black and Hispanic women have the highest teen pregnancy rates (126 and 127 per 1,000 women aged 15–19, respectively); non-Hispanic whites have the lowest rate (44 per 1,000)
- The pregnancy rate among black teens decreased 45% between 1990 and 2005, more than the overall U.S. teen pregnancy rate declined during the same period (41%).
- Eighty-two percent of teen pregnancies are unplanned; they account for about one-fifth of all unintended pregnancies annually.
- Two-thirds of all teen pregnancies occur among 18–19-year-olds.
- Ten percent of all U.S. births are to teens.
The statistics are scary- and also show that most teens need better education and communication about sex and reproductive health.
- Nearly half of all 15-19 year olds in the country have had sex at least once.
- A sexually active teen has a 90% chance of getting pregnant within a year if they are not using protection.
- Of the 18.9 million new cases of STIs each year, 9.1 million (48%) occur among 15–24-year-olds.
- Although 15–24-year-olds represent only one-quarter of the sexually active population, they account for nearly half of all new STIs each year.
Help prevent more teen and unintended pregnancy in South Carolina and the nation. Sign up for Tell Them, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and stay informed about reproductive health policies in South Carolina.
*All statistics are from the Guttmacher Institute
