Strategies for Prevention and Overall Well-Being

Efforts are currently under way to explore strategies to reduce teen childbearing and its associated challenges for parents, children, and society. Research suggests that implementing evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs, expanding access to Medicaid family planning services and Title X clinics, and utilizing mass media campaigns to promote safer sex may reduce teen pregnancy and improve outcomes for youth who may be more likely to have a teen birth.¹

Additionally, the Affordable Care Act, passed in 2010, aims to improve access to recommended health care services for the entire population, including adolescents. The law expands health insurance coverage for adolescents, and offers new support for preventive services, innovative models of care, and clinical training, all of which have implications for teen pregnancy in the United States.¹^,²

The sections below provide specific strategies and approaches to preventing unintended pregnancy for adolescents, parents, health care providers, and communities.

Adolescents

The only certain way to avoid unwanted pregnancies is to abstain from sexual intercourse. For adolescents who are sexually active, using effective contraceptives (such as condoms, birth control pills, the patch, the vaginal ring, the intrauterine device or IUD, and/or injectable birth control methods) every time they have sexual intercourse will reduce chances of unwanted pregnancy.³ In addition to using a contraceptive method that protects against pregnancy, using condoms correctly will reduce the risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) for everyone.⁴STIs are also called sexually transmitted diseases, or STDs.

Parents and Caregivers of Adolescents

Note: We may refer to "parents" and “caregivers,” but this information can also apply to guardians, aunts, uncles, or grandparents. Additionally, sources cited below may refer to "parents" or ask adolescents about their "parents." However, the information may extend to other caregivers who have secure attachments to adolescents.

Talk with your teen about changes that happen during puberty, your expectations for dating, how to have healthy relationships, contraception and condom use, and STIs and HIV/AIDS. Talk early and often and be ready to listen to your teen and answer questions.

Believe in your ability to effect change. It might seem like your teen is ignoring you, does not want to hear what you say, or does not care what you think. However, some of what you say will sink in. Children report that they want to talk to their parents about their sex-related questions, that it would be easier to make healthy decisions about sex if they could have more open and honest conversations with their parents, and that parents influence their decisions about sex more than friends do.

Ensure your child has regular visits with a health provider. Sometimes, a young person will feel more comfortable asking a doctor or other medical professional specific questions about sex and reproductive health. Adolescent medicine specialists have extra training in the issues that many teens face, like irregular periods, mood changes, questions about sexual identity, and problems at home or school. Learn more about the services provided under the Affordable Care Act.

Be clear and specific about family values, rules about when it's okay to start dating, and expectations around dating and sexual behavior. Whatever your beliefs, you need to say them aloud to your adolescent and explain why you believe what you do.

Talk about the future. Help your children aspire to higher levels of achievement and participate in school and community activities like clubs, sports, or music. Support their dreams to the extent you can. Family connections help adolescents think positively about and plan their future.

Set rules, curfews, and expectations through conversations with your adolescent. Get to know their friends and their friends’ families. Also, be aware of what your children are reading, watching, and hearing. Encourage them to think about the consequences of behaviors they may see in the media. Shows, movies, websites, books, and magazines can be springboards for educating young people about sexual and reproductive health.

Health Care Providers

Health care providers should:

Inform clients about the reproductive health services that you offer. The Title X Family Planning Clinic Locator helps users find clinics that offer a broad range of family planning and preventive health services.
Screen and counsel adolescents for sexual risk behaviors, HIV and STIs, and dating violence. Learn more about the preventive services covered under the Affordable Care Act.
Provide teen-friendly sexual and reproductive health care services. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has an infographic and additional information on providing teen-friendly reproductive health visits. This article provides concrete, evidence-based guidance on what teens want from their contraceptive counselors.
Locate continuing education opportunities and find teaching tools/curricula, current clinical practice references, and other helpful resources from the National Network of STD and HIV Prevention Training Centers. Also check out the latest STI Treatment Guidelines from CDC.

Communities

Where we live, work, and play affects our health. Whether or not a neighborhood has safe sidewalks and playgrounds, effective schools, access to consistent and high-quality health care, as well as to jobs and opportunities, can all influence adolescents’ choices and hopes for the future and their present and future health. Communities can undertake programs that include broad-based strategies to reach many of the youth in the community (e.g., through communication strategies and media campaigns) and through programs targeting youth most in need of prevention and other program services (e.g., through implementation of evidence-based programs and improved links to services).

What communities can do:

Implement an evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention program in your area. Visit HHS’ searchable database to find a program that was shown to be effective in reducing teen pregnancy, STIs, and behavioral risks, and that fits the needs of your community.
Find HHS-funded teen pregnancy prevention programs in your area. Check out OPA's and ACF's lists of grantees to find organizations working in your state and community.
Consider creating a positive youth development behavioral intervention. Emphasize social and emotional competence, improved decision making and communication skills, self-determination, and positive bonding experiences with adult role models, with a goal of reducing sexual risks, as recommended by the Community Preventive Services Task Force.
Encourage schools and organizations to use effective tools and resources and training materials. The right tools may help to reduce sexual risk behaviors among adolescents.

Learn more about how the teen birth rate in your county compares to that of other counties in your state and across the nation.

Footnotes

¹ Sawhill, I. V., & Guyot, K. (2019). Preventing unplanned pregnancy: Lessons from the states. Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Preventing-Unplanned-Pregnancy-2.pdf ^{back to top}

² English, A. (2010). The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010: How does it help adolescents and young adults? National Adolescent Health Information and Innovation Center. http://nahic.ucsf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/HCR_Issue_Brief_Aug2010_Final_Aug31.pdf ^{back to top}

³ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020, August 13). Contraception. https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/contraception/index.htm ^{back to top}

⁴ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Condoms and STDs: Fact sheet for public health personnel. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.cdc.gov/condomeffectiveness/docs/condoms_and_stds.pdf ^{back to top}