THE DECLINE IN US TEEN PREGNANCY RATES, 1990-1995

Objectives. Estimate pregnancy, abortion, and birth rates for 1990 to 1995 for all teens, sexually experienced teens, and sexually active te ens. Design. Retrospective analysis of national data on pregnancies, a bortions, and births. Participants. US women aged 15 to 19 years. Outc ome Measures. Annual pregnancy, abortion, and birth rates for 1990 to 1995 for women aged 15 to 19 years, with and without adjustments for s exual experience (ever had intercourse), and sexual activity (had inte rcourse within last 3 months). Results. Approximately 40% of women age d 15 to 19 years were sexually active in 1995. Teen pregnancy rates we re constant from 1990 to 1991. From 1991 to 1995, the annual pregnancy rate for women aged 15 to 19 years decreased by 13% to 83.6 per 1000. The percentage of teen pregnancies that ended in induced abortions de creased yearly; thus, the abortion rate decreased more than the birth fate (21% vs 9%). From 1988 to 1995, the proportion of sexually experi enced teens decreased nonsignificantly. Conclusions. After a 9% rise f rom 1985 to 1990, teen pregnancy rates reached a turning point in 1991 and are now declining. Physicians should counsel their adolescent pat ients about responsible sexual behavior, including abstinence and prop er use of regular and emergency contraception.