Which teen mothers choose Norplant?

The objective of this study was to determine if there are sociodemographic differences between adolescent mothers who choose to use Norplant after delivery and those who do not. We hypothesized that those adolescent mothers who are at highest risk for repeat adolescent pregnancy are least likely to select Norplant as a postpartum contraceptive.

We prospectively compared the prevalence of epidemiologic risk factors for repeat adolescent pregnancy in a group of 187 consecutively delivered 13-18-year-olds who were enrolled in a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, adolescent-oriented maternity program. The study subjects were interviewed at delivery; 100 subsequently had a Norplant inserted (Norplant users). Student's t-tests and chi-square analyses were used to compare Norplant users and refusers.

We found no statistically significant differences between Norplant users and refusers with regard to: age, race, Medicaid, or marital or school status. Compared to Norplant refusers, Norplant users were less likely to be primiparous (79% compared to 90%; p = .04) and more likely to have poor school grades (20% compared to 7%; p = .001). Norplant users were more likely to state that they had had trouble remembering to use contraceptives in the past (32% compared to 14%; p = .005).

These data do not support the study hypothesis and are encouraging because they suggest that Norplant may reduce repeat pregnancy among adolescent parents.