Guttmacher receives Charity Navigator 4-star rating

The Guttmacher Institute has received a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for the fourth year running. Check out our video describing how the Institute's unique model of research and action makes an impact on policies and programs worldwide. Please watch the video and consider supporting Guttmacher…more

The June 2013 issue of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health is now available

The June 2013 issue of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health is now available online. Click here to find out what is in this issue.

Reducing short spacing between pregnancies can improve maternal and newborn health

Short birth spacing, measured as 18 months or less, has been linked to harmful outcomes for mothers and newborns. The federal Healthy People 2020 initiative aims to reduce by 10% the number of pregnancies that occur within 18 months of a previous birth, measured as one-third of pregnancies in a recent study. The authors of this study show that efforts to achieve this goal should address pregnancy intention status, and estimate that reducing unintended pregnancies could reduce shortly spaced births from 35% to 23%...more

Publicly supported clinics play a critical role in ensuring access to care

Seven in 10 U.S. women of reproductive age—44 million women—make at least one medical visit to obtain sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services each year, and approximately 25 million make a visit for contraceptive services. Over the last decade, publicly supported safety net clinics, such as those funded through Title X, have become increasingly important in giving young and low-income women access to reproductive health care...more

New infographic: Contraception is highly effective

By preventing unintended pregnancies, contraception provides significant health, social and economic benefits. But as our new infographic documents, consistent and correct contraceptive use is critical: The two-thirds of U.S. women at risk of unintended pregnancy who use contraception consistently and correctly throughout the course of any given year account for only 5% of all unintended pregnancies…more

Also see our video on the benefits of contraceptive use in the United States in English and Spanish.

New report finds uneven progress in expanding pregnancy and delivery care in the developing world

Each year, an estimated 287,000 women worldwide die from pregnancy-related causes, and approximately three million newborns do not survive past the first 28 days of life. The majority of these deaths occur in developing countries at or around the time of delivery, and result from treatable conditions that could be prevented with adequate care. However, more than a third of women in the developing world do not give birth in a health facility that has properly trained staff and adequate equipment...more

New infographic: Banning abortion endangers women’s health

Research shows that making abortion illegal does not stop it from occurring, but rather just drives it underground, forcing women to obtain clandestine and unsafe procedures. Every year, 47,000 women die as a result of unsafe abortions, and millions more are injured, some seriously and permanently. Virtually all of these deaths and injuries take place in countries with highly restrictive abortion laws, and they are almost entirely preventable…more

Also see our video on abortion worldwide in English, Spanish and French.

Little progress in meeting demand for contraception in the world's poorest countries

A new study finds that within the developing world, the poorest countries are lagging far behind higher-income developing countries in meeting the demand for modern contraception. Roughly three-quarters (73%) of the 222 million women in developing countries who want to avoid a pregnancy but are not using a modern method now live in the poorest countries, compared with 67% in 2003. Furthermore, women in the poorest countries who want to avoid pregnancy are only one- third as likely to be using a modern method than those living in higher-income developing countries...more

New guide makes data on young people’s sexual health and rights more accessible

Working in partnership with the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Guttmacher has created a new resource that provides clear explanations of a comprehensive set of indicators of adolescent sexual health and rights and guidance on how to effectively use these data in a variety of contexts including advocacy, sexuality education and service delivery. The guide also provides a wealth of data for 30 featured countries...more

In Tanzania, unsafe abortion is a leading cause of maternal injury and death

© Daniele Cucchi/iStockphotoDespite the country’s restrictive abortion law, many women in Tanzania resort to abortion when faced with an unintended pregnancy. A new report finds that virtually all abortions in the country are unsafe, posing grave risks to women’s health. According to the Tanzanian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, 16% of all maternal deaths in the country result from complications of clandestine abortions. Some small-scale studies show that in some parts of the country this figure may be high as 25%...more

Family planning is key to healthy pregnancies and births

In the United States, an estimated 11,300 babies die each year on the day they are born, according to a new report from Save the Children. The alarming report has clear implications for U.S. policy, particularly the importance of investing in and expanding the reach of programs like Medicaid and Title X that make affordable pregnancy-related care and family planning services available to millions of women otherwise unable to obtain such care...more

Many women find it difficult to pay for abortion

Most women who have abortions have either public or private health insurance, but most still pay out-of-pocket for abortion services. The most common reason is that they believe their plan doesn’t cover the procedure. Many women report that it is difficult for them to pay for their abortion and more than half of abortion patients surveyed reported that they relied on someone else to help pay some or all of the costs…more

In Rwanda, notwithstanding considerable increases, contraceptive use not keeping pace with desire for smaller families

© Guenter Guni/iStockPhotoFindings from the first national study of the incidence of unintended pregnancy and abortion in Rwanda show that nearly half of all pregnancies in the country are unintended. Approximately 22% of these pregnancies end in abortion, virtually all of which occur outside of the formal health system where safety cannot be assured...more

State policy trends 2013: Abortion bans move to the fore

In the first three months of 2013, state legislators introduced 694 provisions related to reproductive health and rights, 93 of which have been approved by at least one legislative body. Abortion restrictions once again feature prominently, in particular attempts to ban abortion outright…more

In Ethiopia, most girls who marry before 18 have never been to school

© Ton Koene/Visuals Unlimited/CorbisAccording to a new study, the lack of educational opportunities for girls is fueling Ethiopia’s high level of early marriage. Of the 20–24-year-old women surveyed, most of those who had married before age 15 had never been to school (79%) and only 3% had attained any secondary schooling. Adolescents married at a younger age were also found to face greater health risks and risks of forced sex than older adolescents. While virtually all women reported that their first sexual relations had been with their spouse, those who had married before age 15 were far less likely to have wanted to have sex than were those who had married at ages 18–19...more

Sexual activity is and has long been rare among young adolescents

Very few early adolescents (boys or girls) have had sex, and the incidence of pregnancy among girls aged 12 or younger is minuscule. But adolescence is a time of rapid change, and sexual activity is more common among older teens. Moreover, this pattern has prevailed for decades: A low level of sexual activity among young adolescents has long been the norm, while sexual initiation later in adolescence has been and remains a normal part of teens’ development process...more

Immigration reform must extend access to health insurance coverage

As Congress debates immigration reform, policymakers should heed the strong public health and fiscal arguments for eliminating legal obstacles to affordable public and private health insurance coverage for immigrants. Among many other benefits, such policy changes would improve immigrant women’s ability to obtain the full scope of contraceptive services and supplies, comprehensive maternity care, and a range of other preventive health services…more

Review of scientific literature documents significant social and economic benefits of contraception

The ability to delay and space childbearing is crucial to women’s societal and economic advancement, according to a new Guttmacher Institute review of the scientific literature. The review underscores that women’s ability to obtain and effectively use contraceptives has a positive impact on their education and workforce participation, as well as on subsequent outcomes related to income, family stability, mental health and happiness, and the well-being of their children...more

2008 state-level teen pregnancy data now available

Aliyev Alexei Sergeevich/ShutterstockTeen pregnancy rates declined steadily in all 50 states between 1988 and 2005. However, between 2005 and 2008, the teen pregnancy rate decreased by 5% or more in 7 states, while increasing by 5% or more in 16 states. While these short-term increases are troubling, recent evidence suggests that teen pregnancy rates will continue their long-term declines. The highest teen pregnancy rates were found in New Mexico (93 per 1,000 women aged 15–19), followed by Mississippi, Texas, Nevada, Arkansas and Arizona. The lowest rates were in New Hampshire (33 per 1,000), Vermont, Minnesota, North Dakota and Massachusetts…more

Little progress made in meeting demand for contraception in the developing world

©WorldViewImages.comA new study by the Guttmacher Institute and the United Nations Population Fund finds that the number of women in developing countries who want to avoid pregnancy but are not using modern contraceptives declined only slightly between 2008 and 2012. However, in the 69 poorest countries—where 73% of all women with unmet need for modern contraceptives reside—the number actually increased, from 153 million to 162 million women. The report also documents the dramatic benefits that would result if the demand for modern contraception were met...more