The Use of Intrauterine Devices (IUDs) in Adolescents and Nulliparous Women: A Systematic Review

Primary care providers play an important role in preventing teenage pregnancy. It is believed that primary care efforts focused on educating patients to help prevent unplanned pregnancy has been a contributor to the continued reduction in the annual teenage birth rates in the United States (US) over the past several years. However, despite the decline in the rates, the problem is far from resolved [1]. In 2013, 26.6 babies were born to every 1,000 females under the age of 20 in the US [2]. Of these 750,000 teenage pregnancies, 82% were unplanned.3 Adolescents have the highest rates of unplanned pregnancies compared to any other age group, 82% compared to 49% in women over the age of 18.3 The rate of unplanned pregnancies in adolescents under the age of 15 years of age is even higher at 98% [3].