Reproductive Health

Adolescence marks the period between childhood and adulthood when hormonal changes transform boys and girls into young men and women able to have children of their own. The percent of adolescents who are having sex at earlier ages has decreased since 1988 and contraceptive use has increased since the 1990s. Together these two factors have contributed to the U.S. reaching its lowest teen pregnancy and birth rates in years. Still, almost half of all high school students reported that they had had sexual intercourse in 2015 and one in eight adolescent females will become pregnant before turning 20. MORE »