Abstract
Over 800,000 pregnancies occur among adolescents annually in the United States. The majority of teen pregnancies are unintended and one-third of these pregnancies end in abortion. As in older reproductive age women, medical and surgical abortions are safe and well tolerated by adolescents. Short-term morbidity is uncommon and no long-term adverse health or psychologic sequelae are associated with uncomplicated abortion. Adolescents encounter unique barriers in accessing abortion services that delay care and increase the cost and complexity of abortion. Clinicians function as a key resource for accurate information and support for adolescents with undesired pregnancies.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 281-289 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Clinical obstetrics and gynecology |
| Volume | 51 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 2008 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Abortion safety
- Adolescent pregnancy
- Adolescents
- Contraception
- Medication abortion
- Surgical abortion
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Obstetrics and Gynecology