Hot on HuffPost Parents:
Mitch Kellaway: Father's Day as a Transgender Man
Melissa Sher: The 7 Annoying People You'll Meet When Pregnant
More Teens Using Rhythm Method for Birth Control
Filed under: In The News, Research Reveals: Teens
The rhythm method? Not so effective. Credit: Klaus Mellenthin, Getty Images
Overall, teenage use of birth control and teen attitudes toward pregnancy have remained about the same since a similar survey was done in 2002.
But there were some notable exceptions in the new survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
First, about 17 percent of sexually experienced teen girls say they had used the rhythm method - timing their sex to avoid fertile days to prevent getting pregnant. That's up from 11 percent in 2002.
They may have been using another form of birth control at the same time. But the increase is considered worrisome because the rhythm method doesn't work about 25 percent of the time, said Joyce Abma, the report's lead author. She's a social scientist at the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.
The survey results were based on face-to-face interviews with nearly 2,800 teens ages 15 through 19 at their homes in the years 2006 through 2008. Trained female interviewers asked the questions.
It found that about 42 percent of never-married teens had had sex at least once in their life. Of those teens, 98 percent said they'd used birth control at least once, with condoms being the most common choice. Those findings were about the same as in the 2002 survey.
The increase in the rhythm method may be part of the explanation for recent trends in the teen birth rate. The teen birth rate declined steadily from 1991 through 2005, but rose from 2005 to 2007. It dropped again in 2008, by 2 percent.
"We've known the decline in childbearing stalled out. This report kind of fills in the why," said Bill Albert, a spokesman for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.
Teen attitudes may be big part of it. Nearly 64 percent of teen boys said it's OK for an unmarried female to have a child, up from 50 percent in 2002. More than 70 percent of teen girls agreed, up from 65 percent, though the female increase was not statistically significant.
The survey was conducted at a time of some highly publicized pregnancies of unmarried teens, including the Bristol Palin, the daughter of former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, and Jamie Lynn Spears, Britney's kid sister. The 2007 movie "Juno," a happy-ending tale of a teen girl's accidental pregnancy, was popular at the time.
Related: Abstinence Education to Blame for Rise in Teen Pregnancy Rates, Report Finds
Your<span>Voice</span>
Ask Us Anything About Parenting
Recently Asked
- What's the penalty for falsley claiming relation to a person does it have to be for monetary gain or proven not just a social gesture
- Why would the defendant file an acknowledgment of service instead of a defence?
- LAW SCHOOL OR COPYCAT would'nt it be a difficult profession ( lawyer)if anyone could use your court case defense as plaintiff or defendant
TheTalkies:RelatedVideos
-
Schools Try Dogs, Recess to Help Stressed Teens
Stress, anxiety and panic attacks are on the rise at many U.S. high schools, so some schools are trying unconventional methods to help students cope. (Jan. 31)
-
Retailers Text to Reach Young Customers
Teens don't email. So some fashion brands are using text messaging as a faster, surer way to teens' hearts and wallets. Brands like Vans and Charlotte Russe are finding that teens respond to marketing texts with alacrity and with far higher response rates than other methods, as Christine Binkley explains on Lunch Break. Photo: Misty Keasler for The Wall Street Journal.
-
Injecting 'Fear' Into Rob's 'Factory'
Fear was an absolutely brilliant reality show that MTV aired from 2000 to 2002 and featured teams of teens that were sent into haunted locations in hopes of earning cash as they lost their minds while hunting the paranormal. That idea is resurrected on tonight's all-new episode of Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory when Rob tries to exorcise Chanel's demons. See, the little lass claims she's been haunted since childhood by a spirit. Although there's mostly madness to Rob's method.
-
Teens Who Self-Harm
Why do some teens self-harm? How dangerous is it and how should you respond if you find out your teen is self-harming? We look at some of the causes, some of the signs to look out for, and the best ways to support your teen.
SitesWeLove
- Site Map
- |
- Staff
- |
- Terms of Service
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Trademarks
- |
- Advertise With Us
- |
- About Our Ads
- |
- AOL Downloads
- |
- Contact Us
- |
© Copyright 2012 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Aol Family
ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
6-02-2010 @ 11:53PM
Kathy said...When I was young, there was a joke going around: What do you call people who use the rhythm method? Answer: Parents
The rhythm method only works for women whose monthly cycle is very, very regular --- and most aren't. It just isn't that reliable.
Reply
6-03-2010 @ 9:55AM
Sandyone said...Kathy,
That's a funny joke, but I know more people who became parents while using the pill or other methods of artificial birth control than you can count.
There is no birth control that is 100% effective except for total abstinence. Periodic abstinence that goes along with modern methods of Natural Family Planning is as effective as the pill for pregnancy avoidance (even for women with irregular cycles) and far more effective in helping low-fertility couples to conceive without expensive, intrusive medical procedures.
Rhythm Method? Not so good.
6-03-2010 @ 8:25AM
abtru said...I wish they would stop teaching the rhythm method as a form of birth control. They need to teach reliable methods to teens to help prevent pregnancy. The worst part about this is that most women don't know when they are ovulating even if they have their cycle timed because so many factors throw things off including age, stress, weight loss and gain, not to mention just the fact that not all women have the same day cycle. I just get so frustrated that they do not provide accurate or complete information when informing the youth about serious issues. I'm putting a plea out to all parents to please discuss this stuff with your children instead of allowing the school or worse yet their friends to teach them sex ed. Please start early because kids are having sex younger and younger no matter what you say or do. It doesn't mean you condone the the behavior just that you are willing to accept that your kids will make their own choices and that you want them to be smart ones.
Reply
6-03-2010 @ 9:55AM
Sandyone said...Abtru,
I don't think anybody is actually teaching anyone the Rhythm Method. Well, maybe teenagers are 'teaching' each other about it. The Rhythm Method was as good as it got back in the day. It was the best they had and a pre-cursor to the modern science of NFP, which is as effective as the pill in preventing pregnancy.
6-03-2010 @ 9:47AM
Sandyone said...The Rhythm Method is not a reliable form of birth control. It's old-fashioned and based on past knowledge of a woman's cycle.
Fortunately, today there is the new and improved Natural Family Planning (NFP). There are several methods of NFP (Marquette, Billings, Sympto-Thermal, Creighton, etc.) and they each have some unique factors. There's an NFP method out there for everyone.
Modern NFP methods don't rely solely on past cycle history. The couple uses current observations to determine fertility and then acts to either achieve or avoid pregnancy, depending on what they have decided.
NFP observations become a habit, just like anything else that you do several times a day. The trickier part is the self-control and self-mastery of abstaining.
NFP is not perfect, but it can make marriages stronger and has no medical side effects.
Reply