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More Progress in San Antonio
San Antonio teens have made great progress in reducing their rates of teen pregnancy and birth! As outlined in Metro Health's 2012 Annual Report, Bexar County's rate of births to teens continued to fall dramatically in 2012.
Preliminary estimates are that there were 42.7 births per thousand females age 15-19, a decline of 15% in just two years.
In 2012, 2,713 babies were born to Bexar County teens. This is 585 fewer births than in 2010, when Metro Health reported a total of 3,298 births to women under age 20.
Clearly, we are making progress as a community. But we still have far to go. Our teen birth rates are still far higher than national rates. The babies born to teens last year will fill 123 kindergarten classes in 2017. These children will have high risks for health problems, educational delay, and poverty. Their parents will have additional challenges to completing their education and achieving their goals and dreams.
Along with our many community partners, we at Healthy Futures of Texas are working to help more teens get the information and skills to make healthy decisions about sex and relationships -- so they can delay pregnancy and parenthood until later.
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 Texas #1 in Repeat Teen Births Nearly 1 in 5 teen births is to a teen who is already a mother, and Texas has the highest percentage (22%) of repeat teen births of any state.
An April report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that, of the 364,859 births to teens aged 15-19 in 2010, 18.3% were repeat births. A majority of these repeat births were a second child (85.7%), but some were to teens giving birth to a third (12.6%) and fourth-sixth child (1.7%).
The prevalence of repeat births varied by race/ethnicity, with the highest percentages among American Indian/Alaska Natives (21.6%), Hispanics (20.9%), and non-Hispanic blacks (20.6%) and the lowest percentage among non-Hispanic whites (14.8%). The percentage varied widely by state, with Texas having the highest prevalence (22%) and New Hampshire with the lowest (10%). The report also looked at use of contraceptives after giving birth. A majority of teen mothers (91%) used contraception in the postpartum period, but only 22% were using the most effective methods, such as intrauterine devices (IUDs) and implants placed under the skin. Clearly, more can be done to reduce the occurrence of repeat teen pregnancy. Disparities in access to the most effective methods of birth control are important to address, if we are to make further progress for all teens. |
Journal Highlights LARCs for Teens
Long-acting reversible contraceptives ("LARCs" for short) are the most effective methods of contraception, and experts are recommending that they be considered as first-line methods for sexually active adolescents. The April supplement of the Journal of Adolescent Health collected and published 9 articles in order to raise awareness and educate providers about the use of intrauterine devices (IUDs) and under-the-skin implants in adolescents.
In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Paula J. Adams Hilliard describes the importance of more effective and easier-to-use methods of contraception to reduce rates of adolescent pregnancy. Research shows that, although oral contraceptives (the pill) are popular among adolescents, up to 60% of adolescents discontinue taking pills by the end of one year after initiation.
IUDs and subdermal implants have the highest rates of both satisfaction and continuation of all reversible contraceptives. The risk of contraceptive failure with birth control pills, the patch, or the vaginal ring is 20 times as high as the risk of unintended pregnancy with a LARC method such as an IUD or an implant.
In the Contraceptive CHOICE project (http://www.choiceproject.wustl.edu/), when all cost and information barriers were removed, 69% of teens aged 14-17 and 61% of those aged 18-20 chose a LARC method. This study demonstrated dramatic reductions in teen pregnancy, unplanned pregnancy, and abortion when all methods were available and free of charge.
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Save the Date: May 1st National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
Wednesday May 1 is the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy! This year, local partners are marking The National Day with a twist on the traditional press conference.
Please join the ME NOW...baby later Teen Ambassadors, along with teens from Metro Health's Project WORTH, UT Teen Health and Girls, Inc. for Mapping Our Future to 2020. The teens have mapped their vision for 2020 and will exhibit their poster collection of best practices for preventing teen pregnancy.
National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
Mapping Our Future to 2020
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
11:00 AM to 12:00 AM
San Antonio Central Library
Auditorium
600 Soledad St. 78205
Join Us!
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Healthy Futures of Texas is committed to reducing teen and unplanned pregnancy in San Antonio
and Texas by providing and promoting science-based and culturally appropriate approaches.
We are working toward a community where every young person is able to reach their potential, and
every child is wanted, loved, and cared for.
2300 W. Commerce, Ste. 203
San Antonio, Texas, 78207
210.223.4589
info@healthyfuturestx.org
www.HealthyFuturesTX.org
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