--- title: Unintended Pregnancies Decline Across the U.S. description: Unintended pregnancies are down in most U.S. states, though several are still lagging according to a new report. canonical: https://time.com/3682403/unintended-pregnancy-guttmacher-institute/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-26T16:43:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:56:39.405Z article:section: Health og:title: Unintended Pregnancies Decline Across the U.S. og:description: Unintended pregnancies are down in most U.S. states, though several are still lagging according to a new report. og:url: https://time.com/3682403/unintended-pregnancy-guttmacher-institute/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d5c05ff38f5a23a/69877893f887dc8c26e895ee/pregnancy-test-1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME.com stock photos Pregnancy Test og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Unintended Pregnancies Decline Across the U.S. twitter:description: Unintended pregnancies are down in most U.S. states, though several are still lagging according to a new report. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d5c05ff38f5a23a/69877893f887dc8c26e895ee/pregnancy-test-1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Unintended Pregnancies Decline Across the U.S. ## Video: The History of Birth Control [Watch (HLS stream): The History of Birth Control](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/4oCau3Jn.m3u8) (3:12)  _Published 2015-01-22. For as long as men and women have been having children, they’ve been trying to figure out how not to. Artifacts dating back to ancient times have shown that contraceptives have been used for thousands of years._ by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jan 26, 2015 4:43 PM UTC  Elizabeth Renstrom for TIME by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jan 26, 2015 4:43 PM UTC The rates of unintended pregnancies have fallen in most U.S. states since 2006,[ according to a new report](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/stateup10.pdf) — though rates remained steady in a dozen states. Between 2006 and 2010, 28 states out of 41 with data available experienced a drop in their unintended pregnancy rate of 5% or more, according to a new report from the Guttmacher Institute. Twelve states’ rates remained unchanged, and one state—West Virginia—had an increase of 5% or more. **MORE:** [The IUD: Why The Best Form of Birth Control is One No One is Using](http://time.com/the-best-form-of-birth-control-is-the-one-no-one-is-using/) The report notes that in 2010, more than half of all pregnancies in 28 states were unintentional and that the minimum rate for any state was 36%. The states with the highest unintended pregnancy rates were Delaware, Hawaii, and New York, though the South tended to have higher rates in general. New Hampshire had the lowest rates. “The decline in unintended pregnancy rates in a majority of states since 2006 is a positive development,” study author Kathryn Kost, a senior research associate for Guttmacher [said in a statement](http://www.guttmacher.org/media/nr/2015/01/26/index.html). “However, rates remain twice as high in some southern and densely-populated states compared with those in other states—a variation that likely reflects differences in demographic characteristics and socioeconomic conditions across states.” **MORE:** [Why Schools Can’t Teach Sex Ed](http://time.com/why-schools-cant-teach-sex-ed/) There’s been an increased use of the most effective contraceptives, [like the intrauterine device (IUD)](http://time.com/the-best-form-of-birth-control-is-the-one-no-one-is-using/), which has contributed to the drop in pregnancies. The report underlines double-digit drops in unintended pregnancy rates in Colorado, Iowa and Missouri, after conducting campaigns to promote the use of long-acting methods like the IUD and implant. In 2010, publicly-funded family planning services also helped prevent 2.2\. million unintended pregnancies, [according to prior Guttmacher research](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/contraceptive-needs-2010.pdf). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3682403/unintended-pregnancy-guttmacher-institute/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3682403/unintended-pregnancy-guttmacher-institute/"},"headline":"Unintended Pregnancies Decline Across the U.S.","datePublished":"2015-01-26T16:43:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:56:39.405Z","description":"Though some states are doing better than others","url":"https://time.com/3682403/unintended-pregnancy-guttmacher-institute/","keywords":["Sex/Relationships","Living","Sex","contraception","Birth Control","Pregnant","condoms","IUD"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d5c05ff38f5a23a/69877893f887dc8c26e895ee/pregnancy-test-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d5c05ff38f5a23a/69877893f887dc8c26e895ee/pregnancy-test-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TIME.com stock photos Pregnancy Test","caption":"TIME.com stock photos Pregnancy Test","creditText":"Elizabeth Renstrom for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/sexrelationships/","name":"Sex/Relationships"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3682403/unintended-pregnancy-guttmacher-institute/","name":"Unintended Pregnancies Decline Across the U.S."}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The History of Birth Control","description":"For as long as men and women have been having children, they’ve been trying to figure out how not to. 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