In addition, many junior high school students are sexually active. Each year, approximately 1 million teenage girls become pregnant. By the late 1980s, girls under the age of 15 were giving birth to more than 10,000 children a year. Pregnancy among these very young mothers can be both socially and medically devastating, especially when the adolescent does not receive adequate prenatal care. Despite increased availability of contraceptives in recent decades, large numbers of sexually active teenagers either do not practice birth control or delay seeking it.
Few teenagers are prepared to use birth control prior to first intercourse.
A recent study showed that teenagers waited an average of 1 year after becoming sexually active before seeking a prescription method of contraception, and many of them made their first inquiries about birth control because they feared they were already pregnant. Early in adolescence, youngsters should be taught the basics of human reproduction. Parents often assume that their children know the facts of life, but large numbers either do not understand the basics or have mistaken notions about when and how conception takes place. Teens should be taught how to predict the time of ovulation and be counseled on the use of both nonprescription and prescription methods of contraception such as the condom, vaginal sponge, and other barrier methods, and oral contraceptives. In this case, the adolescent's doctor must assure the young person of confidentiality.