More teens using rhythm method

An increasing number of teenage girls said they use the rhythm method of contraception, and many teens think it is OK for an unmarried woman who has a child, according to a administration survey released Wednesday.

The report may help explain why teen pregnancy is no longer like it was.

Generally, teenage use of contraception and teen attitudes toward pregnancy were about the same since a similar survey conducted in 2002.

But there were some exceptions in the new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 17 percent of sexually experienced teen girls said they had used the rhythm method - timing of sex to avoid fertile days to avoid attractive pregnant. This is an increase from 11 percent in 2002.

They may have used another form of contraception simultaneously. But the increase is worrying because the rhythm method does not work about 25 percent of the time, "said Joyce Abma, the report's lead novelist. She is a social scientist at CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.

The survey results were based on face-to-face interviews with nearly 2800 teenagers aged 15-19 in their home in the years 2006 to 2008. Trained female interviewers asked questions.

It found that about 42 percent of non-married teenagers had sex at least once in their lifetime.For these teens, 98 percent said they had used contraception at least once, with condoms is the most common choice. These findings were about the same as the 2002 survey.

The increase in the rhythm method may partly explain recent trends in teen birth rates. The teen birth rate fell steadily 1991-2005, but increased from 2005 to 2007. It fell again in 2008, with 2 percent, about 10 percent of all births.

"We've known for the decline in fertility stands out. This kind of report fills in the country," said Bill Albert, a spokesman for the National Campaign to prevent Teen Pregnancy.

Teen attitudes can be a big part of it. Nearly 64 percent of teenage boys say it is OK for an unmarried woman who has a child, up from 50 percent in 2002. More than 70 percent of teenage girls agreed, up from 65 percent, although the female increase was not statistically significant.
The study was conducted in a time of some highly publicized unmarried teen pregnancy, including Bristol Palin, daughter of former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and Jamie Lynn Spears, Britney's little sister. 2007-film "Juno" was a happy ending story about a teenage girl's unintended pregnancy, popular at the time.