A report published this month by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) indicates that teen pregnancy rates are rising. Significant increases are being reported in the teen pregnancy rate in 26 states in 2006, ending a 15 year decline in teen pregnancy statistics.
Regionally, the northeast has the lowest while the south and southwest herald the highest rates. The new data shows the greatest increases in teen pregnancy rates in Alaska, Mississippi, Montana, Hawaii, and Nevada.
A number of factors are being cited as influencing the rise including a rise in highly publicized teen pregnancies, abstinence-only programs, and a disproportionate …read more

Religion may be the key factor to keep teens in the U.S. abstaining from sexual intercourse until they are older.
The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which looked data gathered from nearly 1,000 teens.
It was found that teens who took the virginity pledge varied little from from teens who did not when it came to their actually waiting to have intercourse.
Religion, on the other hand provided a completely different story by revealing teens who were religious waited until the average age of 21 to have intercourse, compared to 17 for those who were not religious.
Having personally been brought up with …read more

Teenagers who pledged to avoid sex until marriage were as likely to have intercourse as other U.S. adolescents, according to a survey of conduct mostly in 1990s.
Teens who took the pledge were less likely to use birth control pills or condoms than those making no promise. Essentially, the results show that teens need information on safe sex and pregnancy prevention even if they vow to refrain.
Imagine, teens making a promise and within a year or two – they up and change their mind. Gasp
I think it’s great that teens make such promises – but being a realist I know …read more