Nearly 31% of girls ages 15 to 19 who have had sexual intercourse at least once become pregnant, and more than 13% of sexually active teenage boys say they have been involved in a pregnancy, according to a report released Wednesday by the Washington, D.C.-based not-for-profit group National Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy, the Chicago Sun-Times reports (Herrmann, Chicago Sun-Times, 5/3). The report presents statistics from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth for teenage boys and girls on age of "first sex," whether a contraceptive was used during first sex and the number of subsequent sexual partners. Nearly 50% of teenage girls who have sex for the first time before age 15 report having been pregnant, compared with almost 25% of girls age 15 or older, according to the report. In addition, 22% of sexually active boys age 15 and under report having been involved in a pregnancy, compared with 9% of teenage boys age 15 or older, the report finds. The analysis shows that more than one-third of sexually active girls who have had three or more sexual partners have been pregnant, compared with one in four who have had one or two partners. In addition, the report finds that 27% of girls who used a form of contraception when having sex for the first time said they became pregnant, compared with 43% of girls who did not use contraception during first sex (National Campaign report, 5/3). About 57% of teenage girls nationally give birth, 29% undergo abortion and 14% experience a miscarriage, Bill Albert, senior director of communications, publications and technology at the National Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy, said (Chicago Sun-Times, 5/3). Statistics for various racial or ethnic groups show that 52% of sexually active Latina girls have been pregnant, compared with 40% of sexually active non-Latina black teenage girls and about 23% of sexually active non-Latina white teen girls (National Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy report, 5/3).

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"The dramatic progress the nation has made in reducing rates of teen pregnancy is justifiably noted and celebrated," Sarah Brown, director of the National Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy, said in a press release, adding, "Even so, the proportion of sexually experienced teens who get pregnant or cause a pregnancy remains alarmingly high" (National Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy release, 5/3). The organization recommends increasing efforts to reduce the proportion of teens having sex with multiple partners, talking with teens about delaying sexual activity and increasing education about contraception (National Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy report, 5/3). In conjunction with the release of the report, the National Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy has asked teenagers across the country to take an online quiz that includes questions about the most effective strategy to address a variety of sexual situations (National Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy release, 5/3).