Doctors Advise IUD Use as Best Birth Control Method for Teenagers

A leading medical group on Monday recommended implantable rods and intrauterine devices (IUDs) as the best form of birth control for teenage girls other than abstinence.

The new guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), published Monday in the group’s Pediatrics journal, touts birth control methods not commonly used in the U.S. despite widespread agreement about their effectiveness. The AAP says pediatricians, who teens consider “a highly trusted source of sexual health information,” should recommend, in decreasing order of effectiveness, progestin implants, IUDs, injectable contraception, and oral contraception for use among adolescents.

(MORE: The best form of birth control is the one nobody is using)

The doctors call oral contraceptives the least effective options for teens because many fail to use them properly and consistently. About 18% of women experience an unintended pregnancy when using male condoms, compared to 0.8% who experience unintended pregnancy while utilizing a Copper T IUD. Though IUDs are expensive at the outset, the AAP says the long-term cost is less than the cost of over-the-counter oral contraceptives.