Rapid Repeat Teen Pregnancy, Avoidable?

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Main Category: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Also Included In: Sexual Health / STDs;  Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 20 Sep 2010 - 6:00 PDT

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Many teenagers are going back to having unprotected sex and thus increasing the chances of repeat pregnancy within two years of having their first child. Ninety four percent of women teens are engaging in this practice and thirty percent are doing so without protection, thus increasing the chance of Rapid Repeat Pregnancy or RRP.

How can this problem be combated? Long-acting contraceptives are needed as shown in a study published by Lucy Lewis, a research midwife for the School of Women's and Infants' Health, and her colleagues. This topic first appeared in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Lewis states that:

Contraceptive counseling and free access to contraception postpartum did not guarantee contraceptive use. Our finding reinforces the need for ongoing contraceptive support and follow-up in this population, to encourage long-term use.


Thirty three of 147 study participants had experienced RRP. That's 22.4%. However the use of long-acting birth control, instead of conventional barrier or oral ingestion of prescribed contraception, displayed a large decrease in rapid repeat pregnancies.

Lewis continues:

A surprising finding in our study was that teenagers using an oral contraceptive were as likely as those using barrier methods or no contraception to experience RRP. Teenagers can be poor users of oral contraceptives, and condom use in this population is often inconsistent. Long-acting contraceptives appear to be the only means by which RRP is effectively reduced in this population.


So what are the real options? Lewis explains:

There are two options available to health care providers for reducing the rate of RRP. The first is to provide teenage mothers with ready access to long-acting contraceptives, and provide ongoing contraceptive support to encourage their long-term use. The second is for health care providers to gain a clear understanding of teenage mothers' intention with regard to repeat pregnancy so appropriate advice and support can be given."

"Predictors of sexual intercourse and rapid-repeat pregnancy among teenage mothers: an Australian prospective longitudinal study"
Lucy N Lewis, Dorota A Doherty, Martha Hickey and S Rachel Skinner
MJA 2010; 193 (6): 338-342

Written by: Sy Kraft, B.A. - Journalism - California State University, Northridge (CSUN)
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

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