Declining Pregnancy Rates Among Adolescents Are Due to Increased Contraceptive Use

Adolescent pregnancy rates decreased substantially from 1990 to 2005, stalled between 2005 and 2007, and then declined rapidly from 2007 to 2013. Investigators used data from the National Survey on Family Growth for three periods (2006–2008, 2008–2010, and 2011–2013) to examine changes in sexual activity and contraceptive use among women aged 15 to 19 years. For each adolescent (roughly 1000 in each period), a pregnancy risk index was calculated reflecting sexual activity in the past 3 months, contraceptive use, and the failure rate of the method used at last intercourse.

The proportion of adolescents who were sexually active remained constant at about 30%. Use of one or more contraception methods increased significantly from 78% in 2007 to …