Both the medical profession and the general public are becoming more and more aware of the need for adolescent contraception and the devastating consequences of the lack of such care. It is the responsibility of family planning providers and educators to offer this type of service tailored to adolescents and their unique needs. The service must include counseling, education, provision of contraceptives, and followup medical care. To better understand adolescent contraception, it is necessary to understand adolescent sexuality, the teenage pregnancy problem, the risks of teenage pregnancy, and the unique aspects of the contraceptive methods available to teenagers. Each of these areas is reviewed. The most important developmental task of adolescence relates to sexual maturation. The child's body undergoes complex changes necessary for adult function, and the sex drive is awakened. The teenager is faced with the task of developing a sexual identity and personal values about sexual behavior. The 2 important tasks in sexual counseling of the adolescent are helping them to decide whether or not they are ready for sexual intimacy and encouraging them to assume responsibility for their sexual behavior. The consequences of adolescent sexual activity are the rise in teenage sexually transmitted diseases and the rise in teenage pregnancies. Medically, the hazards of an adolescent pregnancy include: an overall increase in incidence of infant mortality 2-3 times that of the normal population; twice as many growth retarded infants born to teen mothers; maternal mortality 60

作者：G C, Bolton

来源：Clinical obstetrics and gynecology 1981 年 24卷 3期