Commenting on the report, Albert said that it "underscores something that is counterintuitive to many adults: that the progress the nation had made in preventing teen pregnancy has been nothing short of extraordinary."
"When it comes to teens and sex, adults usually think the news is bad and probably getting worse," he added. "The bad news is our rates are still too high," Albert said.
To get teen pregnancy rates further down, parents need to get more involved, Albert said. "In surveys, teens say it is parents, not peers, not popular culture, that most influence their decisions about sex," he said. "Parents have a role in talking early and often with their kids about relationships, sex and contraception," he added.
"What's driven the teen pregnancy rate down is a combination of less sex and more contraception," Albert added. "So we need to encourage more of both."
Albert advises teens delaying sex is the first and "best option. But that has to be coupled with a message for kids who are having sex, that it is critical that they use contraception each time they have sex."
More information
For more information on teen pregnancy, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
SOURCES: Bill Albert, Chief Program Officer, National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, Washington Dc; April 5, 2011, teleconference with: Ursula Bauer, Ph.D., M.P.H., director, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; Wanda Barfield, M.D., M.P.H., director, Division of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, both U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; April 5, 2011, CDC report, Vital Signs:Teen P
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