Teens are having sex without access to contraceptives

An estimated 38 million of the 252 million adolescent women aged 15–19 in developing regions are sexually active and want to avoid pregnancy. Yet 23 million of these adolescents have no access to modern contraception.

An international survey released on Tuesday by the Guttmacher Institute found that most adolescents with an “unmet need” for birth control are using no contraceptive method (84%). The remaining 16% rely on traditional methods‚ primarily withdrawal and periodic abstinence‚ which are less effective than modern methods.

“Preventing unintended pregnancy is essential to improving sexual and reproductive health and social and economic well-being among adolescent women‚ yet … many who want to avoid pregnancy are not receiving the services they need to protect their health and delay childbearing‚” according to the report.

Currently‚ 15 million adolescent women use modern contraceptives‚ thereby preventing 5.4 million unintended pregnancies each year. Of these pregnancies‚ an estimated 2.9 million would have ended in abortion‚ many of which would have been unsafe. Current use of modern contraceptives also averts 3‚000 adolescent maternal deaths annually in developing countries‚ says the report‚ “Adding It Up: Costs and Benefits of Meeting the Contraceptive Needs of Adolescents‚” by Jacqueline E. Darroch et al for the US-based NGO.

“Making it possible for young women to avoid unintended pregnancy and childbearing until they feel ready to become mothers can have a profound impact. It allows them to achieve healthier lives for themselves and their children‚ more education and better job opportunities‚” says lead author Jacqueline E. Darroch. “The positive impact of investing in sexual and reproductive health services for adolescent women is undeniable.”

Breaking down the costs‚ the researchers estimate the cost of providing modern contraceptives to adolescent women would be $351 million in Africa‚ $222 million in Asia‚ and $196 million in Latin America and the Caribbean.

“On average‚ providing high-quality contraceptive services to all adolescent women aged 15–19 who are sexually active and want to avoid becoming pregnant would cost just $21 per user each year.

“The impact of this investment would be dramatic.”

Meeting the need for modern contraception for all adolescent women who want to avoid pregnancy would‚ the researchers say‚ result in:

• 6.0 million fewer unintended pregnancies (a decline of 59%);

• 2.1 million fewer unplanned births (a decline of 62%);

• 3.2 million fewer abortions (a decline of 57%)‚ including 2.4 million fewer unsafe abortions;

• 700‚000 fewer miscarriages of unintended pregnancies (a decline of 60%); and

• 5‚600 fewer maternal deaths related to unintended pregnancies (a decline of 71%).

Based on the study’s findings‚ the authors suggest that policymakers must work on several fronts to meet adolescents’ needs: prevent human rights violations such as child marriage‚ coerced sex and sexual abuse‚ which underlie some sexual activity among young women; promote adolescent women’s education and advance the status of girls and women in society; and provide high-quality sex education and contraceptive counselling and services to help young women overcome barriers to contraceptive use and to protect their rights to voluntary‚ informed and confidential contraceptive choice.