The drop in pregnancies “averted” $66 million to $69.6 million that might have been spent on four state and federal welfare and health care programs for low-income mothers, the researchers found. “If you’re looking at teens and the way teens lives are, it is a lot more difficult to take a pill every day or to remember to go in during your window to get your shot,” Mitchell said.Ĭolorado law allows those under 18 to give their own consent regarding birth control and sexual health services.Īn analysis by University of Colorado researchers found the state program was responsible for as much as two-thirds of the decline in births to teen mothers from 2009 to 2015. “People started hearing about it, saying ‘Wait, I can get one of those (IUDs) that my girlfriends with insurance have?’ It caught on like wildfire in a really important way.”Ĭolorado sounds alarm over spike in syphilis among mothers, babies: “One case is one case too many” “Because of that, everything changed,” said Jody Camp, who oversees the state health department’s family planning program. From 2009 to 2016, the program provided 43,713 contraceptive implants to women, plus trained medical staff on how to insert the devices. Thanks to a grant from billionaire Warren Buffett’s family, Colorado spent $28 million during eight years supplying IUDs to 75 public health clinics throughout the state, several based inside high schools. “The work that’s happened is really striking.” John Douglas, executive director of the Tri-County Health Department, which has six clinics in Douglas, Arapahoe and Adams counties. “This is one of the biggest public-health home runs that I’ve seen in my 35-year public-health career,” said Dr. The astounding numbers, capturing the eight-year period since IUDs became an affordable option for low-income health clinics, were released along with a study estimating the state avoided paying nearly $70 million for labor and delivery, well-baby check-ups, food stamps and child-care assistance because of fewer births to teen moms. Intrauterine devices - tiny, T-shaped pieces of plastic placed in the uterus - are the main reason Colorado’s teen birth rate fell 54 percent and the teen abortion rate declined 64 percent in the last eight years, state health officials said Thursday. The steep drop in teen pregnancies and abortions in Colorado since 2009 is mainly due to one thing: free, low-cost access to IUDs. Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close Menu
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