Assessing adolescent pregnancy--Maine, 1980-1996.
Despite prevention efforts at the state and federal levels, adolescent pregnancy rates in the United States are among the highest in developed countries. The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act mandates a national strategy to prevent pregnancy among teenagers and requires that states establish goals to reduce the incidence of "out-of-wedlock" pregnancies, particularly among teenagers. Adolescent pregnancy and birth rates are declining across the nation; in particular, the rates have decreased substantially in Maine. This report summarizes an evaluation of pregnancy rates for persons aged 15-19 years in Maine and an assessment of clinical and behavioral factors that may have contributed to decreasing rates during 1980-1996 by the Maine Department of Human Services, Bureau of Health (MBH); the Family Planning Association of Maine (FPA); and CDC. From 1980 through 1996, pregnancy rates in Maine among females aged 15-19 years decreased from 67.9 to 45.6 pregnancies per 1000. A decrease in oral contraceptive (OC) use and increases in the use of condoms and long-acting methods were significantly correlated with the decrease in adolescent pregnancy rates from 1984 to 1996.
D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008281:Maine / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*