National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month

May is National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month!

National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month is observed in May. The month is sponsored by the Health and Human Services Office of Adolescent Health. By preventing teen and unplanned pregnancy, other serious social problems can improve. These include poverty (especially child poverty), child abuse and neglect, father-absence, low birth weight, school failure, and poor preparation for the workforce. Wear white for National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month!

Wear White During National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month

During National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month, the nation turns its attention to teen pregnancy prevention. It also focuses on the great strides made over the last 20 years. While there have been advances in reducing teen pregnancy, progress is still needed. This is especially true about the racial/ethnic gap. There are racial/ethnic and geographic disparities in teen birth rates in the United States. Although the teen birth rate is at a historic low, the United States has one of the highest rates in the industrialized world. Birth rates are higher among American Indian/Alaska Natives and non-Hispanic blacks than among their non-Hispanic white counterparts.

Get Involved – Resources

Teen pregnancy prevention is one of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) top seven priorities. It is also considered a “Winnable Battle” in public health. CDC encourages prevention partners, schools, and other youth serving organizations to amplify teen pregnancy prevention efforts. This can be done through a variety of mediums and efforts.

• Clinicians and healthcare providers can learn more about the tools and resources for serving teens, as well as detailed sexually transmitted disease (STD) guidance and HIV prevention.
• For additional information and ideas, access the Office of Adolescent Heath (OAH) National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month Supporter Toolkit or the Administration for Children & Families, Family and Youth Services Bureau for more ways partners can get involved.

Others Wear Yellow to Show Support During National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month

Show your support for NTPPM and National Adolescent Health Month (NAHM) by wearing yellow. Dress in yellow, wear a yellow hat, or put a yellow ribbon in your hair. Then post pictures to social media with one of thed hashtags #NTPPM #TeenPregnancyPrevention #IWearYellow4NTPPM #Yellow4NTPPM or #NAHM.

Empowering youth with sexual and reproductive health information and services

In order to make well-informed, healthy decisions, it’s important young people be educated about sexual and reproductive health. During adolescence, youth experience physical growth. They experiment with new activities, begin thinking more critically, and develop more diverse and complex relationships. Although studies show teen birth rates have decreased more than 40% in the past decade, they are still too high. In addition, they disproportionately affect youth in foster care, homeless youth, parenting teens, and LGBTQ+ youth.

Additionally, racial and ethnic disparities persist. According to the CDC, in 2019, non-Hispanic white teens had a birth rate of 11.4, while African Americans and Hispanics had a rate that was twice as high (25.8 and 25.3 respectively) and the birth rate among American Indian/Alaska Native teens (29.2) was highest among all ethnicities. Finally, even though 38.4% of all high school students reported they had never had sexual intercourse, adolescents ages 15-24 account for nearly half of the 20 million new cases of sexually transmitted infections each year.