In a press conference today at the State Capitol, Gov. John Hickenlooper announced real progress in reducing unintended pregnancy in Colorado:
DENVER — Thursday, July 3, 2014 —
Gov. John Hickenlooper announced today the teen birth rate in Colorado
dropped 40 percent from 2009 through 2013, driven by a Colorado Department of
Public Health and Environment initiative that helps low-income women get
long-acting reversible contraceptives.
“Unintended pregnancies, especially among teenagers, carry
health risks for mother and baby,” said Dr. Larry Wolk, department executive
director and chief medical officer. “Our Colorado Family Planning Initiative
has helped thousands of young women who weren’t ready to have children avoid
pregnancy with affordable, safe and effective contraceptives.”
The Colorado Family Planning Initiative has provided more
than 30,000 intrauterine devices (IUDs) or implants at low or no cost to
low-income women at 68 family planning clinics across Colorado since 2009. The
decline in births among young women served by these agencies accounted for
three-quarters of the overall decline in the Colorado teen birth rate.
While the family planning initiative has helped thousands of
young women avoid unintended pregnancy, it also has helped reduce social and
economic costs to Colorado. The teen abortion rate dropped 35 percent from 2009
to 2012 in those counties served by the initiative. The infant caseload for
Colorado WIC, a program that provides nutrition education and support to
low-income women and their babies, fell 23 percent from 2008 to 2013. And
Colorado saved millions in health care expenditures associated with teen
births, $42.5 million in public funds in 2010 alone based on the latest
available data.
“This initiative has saved Colorado millions of dollars,”
said Gov. Hickenlooper. “But more importantly, it has helped thousands of young
Colorado women continue their education, pursue their professional goals and
postpone pregnancy until they are ready to start a family.”
Colorado moved from the 29th lowest teenage birth rate in
the nation before the initiative began in 2008 to 19th lowest in 2012. The
percentage of young women receiving IUDs and implants quadrupled in clinics
participating in the initiative. These contraceptives are more effective than
other forms of birth control and are recommended by the American Academy of
Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health
Organization.
Seven of 10 teen pregnancies in Colorado are unintended.
Research shows unintended pregnancies are associated with birth defects, low
birth weight, elective abortions, maternal depression, reduced rates of
breastfeeding and increased risk of physical violence during pregnancy.
Children born to mothers who did not intend to have children are more likely to
experience child abuse, poor health and educational challenges. Teen mothers
are less likely to graduate from high school or earn as much as women who wait
to have children.
Health department staff members Sue Ricketts and Greta
Klinger and co-author Renee Schwalberg describe the initiative in “Game Change in
Colorado: Widespread Use of Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives and Rapid
Decline in Births Among Young, Low-Income Women.” The article appears in the
Guttmacher Institute’s fall issue: Perspectives
on Sexual and Reproductive Health. It details how the initiative reduced
unintended pregnancy, expanded clinic capacity and serves as a model for family
planning coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
In addition to long-acting reversible contraceptives, the
initiative provided training, outreach and technical assistance to family
planning clinics statewide.
###
No comments:
Post a Comment