Reducing unwanted adolescent pregnancies

Description

Reducing unwanted adolescent pregnancies involves implementing comprehensive sexual education, increasing access to contraception, and providing confidential reproductive health services. This strategy aims to empower adolescents with accurate information and practical resources to make informed choices, prevent unintended pregnancies, and address barriers such as stigma, lack of knowledge, and limited healthcare access. Effective action includes community engagement, youth-friendly services, and policy support to ensure adolescents can exercise their reproductive rights safely and responsibly.

Context

The number of births out of wedlock in the USA and in western Europe increased, from 7.8% to 44.7% in Denmark and from 5.2% to 25.1% in the UK between 1960 and 1988. This, however, is interpreted differently in the light of family models. While in Scandinavian countries it should be seen as a result of cohabitation, in the USA and the UK it reflects rather teenage pregnancies, uncommon in Scandinavian countries.

Claim

Success in the struggle to reduce unwanted adolescent pregnancies and abortions worldwide requires a change in the attitudes of planners, providers and parents – and family planning associations are best placed to give the lead.