Rise in use of contraceptives, not less sex causing fall in teen pregnancies: study

Recent reports have suggested that the present generation is having lesser sex than their predecessors and various factors like obsession with career and fear of emotional attachment were put forward as reasons.

Several new studies have also followed suggesting a decline in teenage pregnancies and while most might think of it as an indication of teens having less sex, a study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health has a different take on it.

According to data from authorities showed that birth to teens aged between 15 to 19 fell by 36% from 2007 to 2013 and pregnancies went down by 25% in the same time period. But the study says this happened due to teens increasingly taking contraception.

The author of the study, Laura Lindberg told NPR that, "By definition, if teens are having the same amount of sex but getting pregnant less often, it's because of contraception."

They also found that teens were combining different methods of contraception or using more effective ways like birth control pills, intrauterine device (IUD) and implants.

The study noted that while pregnancies went down by 57% from 1991 to 2013, the use of contraceptives went up from 66% to 86% between 1995 and 2012.