10th Annual National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy is May 4, 2011

Hundreds of Thousands of Teens Expected to Participate

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Hundreds of thousands of teens nationwide are expected to participate in the tenth annual National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy on May 4, 2011. The purpose of the National Day is to focus the attention of teens on the importance of avoiding too-early pregnancy and parenthood through an interactive online quiz and game.

On the National Day, teens nationwide are asked to go www.StayTeen.org to participate in several online activities that challenge them to think carefully about what they might do "in the moment." The message of the National Day is straightforward: Sex has consequences.

This year, the popular National Day Quiz will be animated for the first time. Young people will also be able to play a new, online game—Invasion of the Myth Monsters— that challenges them to help prevent the spread of myths and untruths about sex, contraception, and pregnancy.

More than a half-million teens participated in National Day activities in 2010 and nearly 4.2 million individuals have taken the National Day Quiz since 2002.

The extraordinary declines in teen pregnancy and childbearing over the past two decades have proven that progress can be made on challenging social issues. Since the early 1990s, the teen pregnancy and birth rates have declined by about one-third. The teen birth rate in the United States declined 6% in 2009 and is now at a record low, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. Rates declined among older and younger teens and among all racial and ethnic groups. For example, the birth rate among Hispanic teens declined 10% in 2009 and is now at a record low.

"While we celebrate the extraordinary progress the nation has made in preventing too early pregnancy and parenthood, we must not mistake these impressive gains with victory," cautioned Sarah Brown, Chief Executive Officer of The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, organizer of the National Day. "It is still the case that three in ten teen girls in this country become pregnant before age 20 and that the U.S. has the highest teen pregnancy rate among comparable countries.

"When it comes to convincing young people that adolescence should be a time for education and growing-up not pregnancy and parenthood, there is much yet to be done. We hope that—in some modest way—the National Day will help teens think carefully about sex, relationships, contraception, the possibility of pregnancy, and the lifelong challenges of being a parent."

Each year those who take the National Day Quiz are asked to participate in a follow-up evaluation. Among the findings from a group of teens who participated in the 2010 National Day Quiz:

• 60% said the Quiz made the risks of sex and teen pregnancy see more real to them;
• 55% said the Quiz made them think about things they hadn't thought about before; and
• 61% said they'd talk to their friends about the Quiz.

Support for the National Day: The National Day has widespread support from a diverse group of more than 200 media outlets, teen websites, health sector leaders, education leaders, businesses, youth-serving groups, groups representing elected officials, fatherhood and male involvement groups, faith-based groups, and other prominent national organizations. Visit www.TheNationalCampaign.org/national for a full list of National Day partners and to learn how you can support the National Day.

About the National Campaign: The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy is a nonprofit, nonpartisan initiative supported almost entirely by private donations. Our mission is to promote values, behavior and policies that reduce both teen pregnancy and unplanned pregnancy among young adults. By increasing the proportion of children born into welcoming, intact families who are prepared to take on the demanding task of raising the next generation, our efforts will improve the well-being of children and strengthen the nation. Please visit www.TheNationalCampaign.org to find out more.

SOURCE The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy