Interventions for Preventing Unintended, Rapid Repeat Pregnancy Among Adolescents: A Review of the Evidence and Lessons From High-Quality Evaluations

Evidence shows that effective prevention of rapid repeat pregnancy among adolescents links adolescent-friendly clinical contraceptive services with non-clinical interventions that contribute to positive youth development.

In 2017, of the 22.5 million parenting adolescents (ages 15ā€“19) in 60 countries, approximately 4.1 million gave birth to a second or higher-order child. Adolescent pregnancy in general, and rapid repeat pregnancies specifically, expose young mothers and their children to multiple health and socioeconomic risks. The purpose of this article is to review the impact of interventions designed to prevent unintended, rapid repeat pregnancies among adolescents, including those aimed at changing norms to postpone ā€œintendedā€ closely spaced pregnancies to promote healthy spacing.