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  • Title: Australian teenagers and pregnancy.
    Author: Siedlecky S.
    Journal: J Aust Popul Assoc; 1984; 1():31-40. PubMed ID: 12266676.
    Abstract:
    Trends in teenage pregnancy in Australia between 1971-83 and some of the factors which may account for these trends are described. In view of the continuing public controversy surrounding the provision of contraceptive services for teenagers, providers of health education and contraceptive services should carefully evaluate the impact of their programs on teenage pregnancy rates. In the decade prior to 1971, the age-specific birth rate for those aged 15-19 continued to increase while the rate for women between 20-29 years of age declined. The teenage rate peaked in 1971 at 55.2. After 1971, the rate for teenagers began declining, and between 1971-82, the rate declined by 50.3%. In the early 1970's the availability of contraceptive services for teenagers was markedly increased. The trend toward increased services may have followed or paralleled the decline in the teenage birth. The decline in the age-specific birth rate for teenagers was marked between 1971-78 (55.2-28.5). The decline then flattened out between 1978-82 (28.5-27.4). These birth rates must be examined in the context of pregnancy and abortion rates. Abortion data is not routinely collected at the national level. In South Australia abortion reporting is mandatory. Rates for the nation were estimated on the basis of these reports. The estimates indicate that between 1978-82, for those aged 15-19, the number of abortions/1000 females increased from 12.3-21.2 while the number of pregnancies/1000 declined from 66.6-48.5. Two thirds of the decline in the pregnancy rate was attributed to increased contraceptive use and 1/3 to increased reliance on abortion. Between 1971-82, among teenagers, there was a marked decline in the number of maritally conceived pregnancies and in the number of premarital conceptions later legitimatized by marriage. In 1981, among the 28,781 premarital conceptions among teenagers, 49% ended in abortion; 39% in premarital births; and 12% in marital births. Data from South Australia for 1978-83 indicate that for those under 15 years of age, the number of pregnancies and of abortions declined while the proportion of pregnancies which ended in abortion increased. Possible factors which may account for the slowdown in the birth rate decline among teenagers since 1978 are: 1) the increased proportion in the population of those teenagers less likely to use contraceptives, i.e., unemployed and the disadvantaged teenagers; 2) the failure of government expenditures on family planning education to keep pace with inflation; 3) the availability of supporting parent benefit for unemployed teenage mothers; and 4) public opposition toward the provisions of sex education and contraceptive services for teenagers. The marked decline in teenage births which occured in 1971-78 may indicate that family planning programs have thus far reached only teenagers most amenable to family planning. To further decrease the teenage birth rate, program providers may need to increase their efforts to reach the hard core cases.
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