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May is Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month

 

May is National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month, a time to celebrate the advancements made in deterring teen pregnancies and to promote the well-being of young people. It's also a time to encourage parents to have frank conversations with their teenagers about the dangers and repercussions of participating in risky sexual behavior. Additionally, parents should provide their teenagers the tools they need to succeed and support them in making responsible, well-informed decisions that will affect their futures. Despite the progress made, teen pregnancy remains a public health issue, especially in Alabama. Although the overall birth rate for teenagers has consistently fallen, Alabama remains significantly higher than the United States.

Becoming a teenage parent can lead to an increase in relative poverty, unemployment, poorer educational achievements, and poor health of the child. For these reasons, unplanned teen pregnancy and transmission of STIs should be considered an important public health issue which requires integrated action across several sectors. Effective ways of reducing unintended pregnancy include improving access to services, linking into plans to reduce sexually transmitted infections, and better sexual health education. 

As we strive to continue this downward trend of teen pregnancy, it is critical that our work includes the following elements:

1. Empowering youth with medically accurate and age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health information and services. 
2. Supporting mental health and overall well-being.
3. Encouraging maintaining physical health and and healthy decision-making.
4. Sustaining equitable, accessible and youth-friendly services.
5. Provide resources for positive youth development that encourages and supports goal setting and planning for their futures. 
6. Developing and maintaining open and non-judgmental parent/trusted adult and adolescent lines of communication.

The goal of National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month is to broaden the scope to highlight issues related to the health and welfare of the entire person, including teen pregnancy, sexual and reproductive health, mental and physical health, and the kind and quantity of care that young people in America get. A "triple benefit" will result from investing in adolescent health and well-being: it will make youth healthier today, ensure that adults are healthier, and lay the groundwork for future generations to be healthier when they become parents, guardians, and caregivers.