Title: Missing the boat on pregnancy prevention.

POPLINE Document Number: 133316

Author(s):

Hogue CJ

Source citation:

ISSUES IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, 1997 Summer;13(4):41-6.

Abstract:

In the past few years, new national efforts have been implemented which are designed to reduce the large numbers of unintended pregnancies among US teenagers. However, most unintended and unwanted pregnancies occur among adults, not among teenagers; adults account for about 75% of the 3.1 million unintended pregnancies which occur in the US annually. The 60% unintended pregnancy rate in the US has remained largely unchanged since the early 1980s and is by far the highest among developed countries. Unintended pregnancies burden individuals, families, and communities. In order for the level of unintended pregnancies to decrease, Americans must dispel the belief that unintended pregnancies among adults are common and inevitable. Instead, it is high time that the country adopt the norm that all pregnancies should be intended, consciously and clearly desired at the time of conception. The author considers the high costs of unintended conceptions, sex education for adults, and the need for a national campaign to improve public knowledge about sex, contraception, and reproductive health, increase access to contraception, guide couples in the effective use of contraception, expand and evaluate local pregnancy prevention programs, and stimulate research on new contraceptive methods.

Keywords:

United States
Critique
Recommendations
Pregnancy Rate
Pregnancy, Unplanned
Pregnancy, Unwanted
Adults
Needs
Attitude
Developed Countries
North America
Americas
Fertility Measurements
Fertility
Population Dynamics
Demographic Factors
Population
Reproductive Behavior
Age Factors
Population Characteristics
Economic Factors
Psychological Factors
Behavior