Hormonal Contraception for Adolescents

In 2008, the United States had the highest rate of teen pregnancy and births in the western industrialized world, with over 750,000 women aged 15 to 19 years old becoming pregnant each year. Approximately 80% of these pregnancies were unintended and occurred in unmarried teens. Of these, about 30% ended in abortions, 57% in live births, and 14% in miscarriage. Oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) were the most common form of hormonal contraception for adolescents and reproductive-age women in the United States. Although the failure rate of the OCP was 0.3 per 100 women-years with ideal use, typical use failure rates, particularly for adolescents, were much higher (3 to 8/100 women-years).