title: Teenage pregnancies and abortions in Finland in the 1990s.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study analyses trends and regional variation in teenage pregnancy, abortion, and fertility rates in Finland in the 1990s, by single-year age group.
  
  
  METHODS
  Individual-level data from Finnish abortion and birth registers maintained by the National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health (STAKES) were used to calculate the rates and the abortion ratio. The abortion ratio was also calculated using conception as the time reference.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Teenage pregnancy rates and abortion rates reverted from decrease to increase in the mid-1990s. This was accompanied by an increase in the share of teenage pregnancies that ended in an abortion. The increase in abortions started first among older teenagers, and spread gradually to younger girls. Regional variation in the rates remained the same throughout the study period.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The observed trends reflect a change towards less effective use of contraceptive methods among teenagers. There is also evidence of the earlier start of teenage sexual activity at the end of the 1990s. The possible explanations for less effective contraceptive use include cutbacks in healthcare and family planning services in the first half of the 1990s and the reduction of sex education in schools.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Practice, University of Tampere, Medical School, Finland. meelko@uta.fi
authors.forename: Elise A L
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Kosunen
authors.forename: Andres
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vikat
authors.forename: Mika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gissler
authors.forename: Matti K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Rimpelä
mesh_terms: D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008423:Maternal Age; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*