Three Sexual & Reproductive Health Stories to Ponder
Plan B sales have doubled since the Food and Drug Administration authorized the switch [to over-the-counter status] for women 18 and older last August, rising from about $40 million a year to what will probably be close to $80 million for 2007, according to Barr Pharmaceuticals, which makes Plan B.
2) Soaring C-section rate troubles doctors
The rate of women who deliver their babies via Caesarean section stands at a record high in the United States, accounting for more than 29 percent of all births in 2004.
This is not really new information, but for including numerous quotes from normal birth advocate Marsden Wagner. More on things not being news below…
3) Teen sexual activity and birthrate decline
The news reports, “About 47 percent of high school students — 4.6 million teens — reported having had sexual intercourse in 2005, down from 54 percent in 1991.” What may be missing from understanding this figure is that it does *not* represent that number of students who had sex by the end of high school. It represents responses from students in grades 9-12, as collected for the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System. We learn a few factoids later that “The percentage of students who reported ever having had sexual intercourse differs by grade. In 2005, 34 percent of 9th-grade students reported having ever had sexual intercourse, compared with 63 percent of 12th-grade students.”
In fact, the America’s Children report referenced in the media coverage of this topic compiles data from a variety of sources, and the sexual behavior information reported widely in the past week is not new, but was released on June 9, 2006. I have no idea why it’s getting so much coverage right now just because a compilation report cites it. The sexual behavior section of the America’s Children report is available here. It also reminds us that the percentage of high school students reporting ever having had sex is statistically unchanged when compared with 2003 data, whereas the much-hyped figures compare 2005 to 1991.
Also of interest – the news article linked above states, “One of the most dramatic increases involved condom use by high school students.” According to the report,
“In 2005, 18 percent of students who had sexual intercourse in the past three months had used birth control pills before their last sexual intercourse and 63 percent used a condom during their last sexual intercourse. Of note, condom use increased since 1991 (from 46 percent) among high school students, while there was no statistically significant change in the use of birth control pills.”
I’m glad condom use has increased, but what I see here is that 37% did *not* use a condom during their last sexual intercourse. Given that only 18% were using birth control, there is a serious gap here in teens’ protection from pregnancy and disease, and work to be done in that area.
Likewise, the teen birth rate information was also released in 2006, in Births: Preliminary Data 2005. Often missing from the reporting on this topic is that the 1991 date of comparison is not arbitrary – it was the most recent peak in adolescent birth rate – “The birth rate among adolescents ages 15–17 declined more than two-fifths, from 39 to 21 births per 1,000, between 1991 and 2005. This decline follows an increase of one-fourth between 1986 and 1991.” It is considered to be the lowest teen birth rate from the last 65 years for which data have been available, however.
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