A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that many teenagers in the United States who are sexually active do not prefer using the most effect methods of birth control.
According to the CDC researchers, most sexually active teens opt for birth control pills or condoms. They were, however, found not using IUDs or implants, which are considered to be the safest and the most effective methods for avoiding pregnancy.
The researchers said that even though the teenagers in the US are getting better at adopting safety during sex, the new federal health report exposed that very of them are using the most effective birth control measure.
Releasing a statement, CDC principal deputy director Ileana Arias, said, “Long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) is safe for teens, easy to use, and very effective. We need to remove barriers and increase awareness, access, and availability of long-acting reversible contraception such as IUDs and implants.”
For its new study, the CDC looked at data collected from the Title X National Family Planning Program over contraceptive use by the teens for the 2005–2013 period. The researchers found that teenagers’ use of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC), like the implant and the intrauterine device (IUD), are up but still very low.
According to the figures, the LARC use by the American teens rose from under one percent in 2005 to seven percent in 2013. Women of all ages used implants more than IUDs.
Colorado is the only American state that has reported the highest use of LARC among its teens in 2013 at 26 percent. All other US states ranged from LARC use of less than 1 percent to 20 percent.