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The original item was published from 5/14/2019 9:01:00 AM to 6/2/2019 12:00:04 AM.

News Flash

Health Department

Posted on: May 14, 2019

[ARCHIVED] Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month

JACKSON COUNTY, MI

May is Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month and the Jackson County Health Department would like to share some ways you can get involved in helping teens consider how having a child could impact their life and steps to take for prevention.

Power to Decide, the national campaign to prevent unplanned pregnancy, states that the latest news on the teen pregnancy front has been incredibly positive. Since the 1990’s, teen birth rate in the U.S. has declined by 70% overall and 7% in the last year. Jackson County has also experienced dramatic declines in teen pregnancy rates with a 71% reduction since the 1990’s. The 2017 teen pregnancy rate for Jackson County is 32.8 per 1.000 females, ages 15-19, compared to a Michigan rate of 27.3.

To continue this momentum, join us the month of May to support the National Day and Teen Pregnancy Prevention Awareness Month. On the National Day, and throughout the month of May, teens will be invited to visit Power to Decides teen website—StayTeen.org—to participate in the online National Day Quiz. The quiz challenges teens to think carefully about what they might do "in the moment" through a series of interactive scenarios. The website also has discussion guides for parents and teens on how to start a conversation about sex, love, relationships, contraception, and making good decisions.

Kelsea Jabkiewicz, Teen Pregnancy Prevention Coordinator at the Jackson County Health Department states, "We have made great strides working together as a community to educate teens on making healthy and responsible choices. Let’s continue to talk early and often with young people about adolescent sexual health."