Oftentimes it seems like unintended pregnancy and teen pregnancy are used interchangeably.  Even more problematic, one is often mistaken for the other, leaving both misunderstood by policymakers and the public.  Despite the obvious overlap, they are not the same. However, both are equally important to address at the systemic level — each deserving its own attention.   

The good news is that pregnancy prevention efforts targeted to teens are working — teen pregnancy rates have declined nationally.  According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, “…75% of the decline in teenage pregnancy was due to improved contraceptive use. The remaining 25% was due to reduced sexual activity.”

On the other hand, the unintended pregnancy rate in this country – about 1 out of 2 pregnancies – remains virtually stagnant. As Kelleen Kaye writes in the Christian Science Monitor, “…increasingly, women are avoiding pregnancy as teens, only to become single mothers in their early 20s.”  In fact, according to the LA Times, women over 20 account for “nearly 80% of all unintended pregnancies.”   The solution for this issue, as we have said repeatedly on this site, takes both access to birth control AND sex education – not just the former for grown women and the latter for youth. Kaye continues, “Public policy largely overlooks single childbearing among young adults, citing a lack of programmatic approaches.”  But that is not to say, they don’t exist and aren’t needed.   

Many of the women highlighted in the LA Times article were participating in Planned Parenthood Los Angeles’ Promotoras Comunitarias.  “The program is modeled after Mexican and Central American programs that reach at-risk populations by utilizing peer-to-peer education with the most influential member of the family the mother.” Despite being long past high-school, many of these women (some even grandparents themselves) were unaware of new forms of birth control including the patch and the ring. 

The group even learned that breastfeeding isn’t a prophylactic – a myth that should needs to be dispelled for many women.  As we have learned from successes among youth, behavioral change requires a multi-faceted approach, using a variety of tactics.  Knowledge — together with accessible birth control — is power for both young and old.  Access to both for all is critical to the reduction of unintended pregnancies and teen pregnancy.