Birth control use by teenagers. One and two years postabortion.
A prospective study was undertaken of the contraceptive behavior of adolescent women following a first-trimester abortion. Each women had an individual counseling session, including birth-control counseling. Effective birth control was used by 77% of the 182 respondents one year postabortion. Two years after abortion, 79% of those who remained in the study group continued to use reliable birth control methods. The repeat abortion rate for all respondents was 7% in the first year and 11% in the second year. These results suggest that teenagers who obtain abortions do not rely on the procedure as a method of contraception. Instead, they are more likely to be using reliable methods of birth control postabortion than they were before the unplanned pregnancy.
D000028:Abortion, Induced; D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D002648:Child; D003268:Contraception Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors