Teenage Pregnancy: A Rare Phenomenon as Revealed by Study From CDC and NCHS
Parents are understandably afraid of the fact that their children can go through several things before they are ready for them. Aside from exposure to harmful drugs, teenage pregnancy is an issue that has plagued the world. Fortunately, a new report from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) has revealed that the U.S. rates of teenage pregnancy have dropped to an all-time low.
According to the published and disseminated report, the birth rate among teenage girls has dropped drastically compared to the rates recorded in 1991. Whereas years ago, the rates were at 67 percent, data revealed that it was at nine percent last year. The 2017 research revealed that it has again dropped one percent, which indicated that teenage pregnancy has become a rare phenomenon.
The data was based on birth certificates that the researchers collected. According to the report, the birth certificates represent 99.96 percent of all births in the U.S., as of Feb. 16, 2017. Considering the drastic decline from where the rates were in the previous years, researchers were also interested to find out what led to the good development in statistics.
"Data [from previous years] really suggests it is access to contraceptives and use of contraceptives that has really led to these kind of changes," Dr. Elise Berlan from the Nationwide Children's Hospital said in a statement. Furthermore, she also noted that "most teens are using some form of birth control" and the top method is "the condom, followed by withdrawal and the pill."
Considering the fact that teen births are often unintended, the data shows that U.S. adolescents have been using what they have learned from their respective sex education classes, which emphasize the importance of family planning. If the trend continues as it is, the future may see generally happier children who were born into the world by parents who intended to have a family of their own.
