NEW YORK, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- A U.S. study suggests 86 percent of the recent decline in teen pregnancy rates resulted from improved contraceptive use.
The study by Dr. John Santelli and colleagues at the Mailman School of Public Health found a small proportion of the decline -- 14 percent -- was attributed to teenagers waiting longer to start having sex.
Santelli said the scientific findings indicate abstinence promotion, in itself, is insufficient to help adolescents prevent unintended pregnancies.
"The United States seems to be following the recent patterns in other developed countries where increased availability and use of modern contraceptives and condoms have led to remarkable declines in teen pregnancy," said Santelli. "If most of the progress in reducing teen pregnancy rates is due to improved contraceptive use, national policy needs to catch up with those realities."
The authors conclude the study raises serious questions about the value of the federal government's funding of abstinence-only education programs that prohibit information about the benefits of condoms and contraception.
The study, conducted in collaboration with researchers at the Guttmacher Institute, appears in the January issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
