Reducing unintended pregnancy


Women facing an unplanned pregnancy are at greater risk for a number of social, economic and health problems. Nearly all unplanned pregnancies occur to women who weren\'t using birth control at all, or not using it correctly or consistently.
  • Since 2008, Colorado has successfully increased access to family planning services throughout the state, particularly for the most effective contraceptive methods, such as intrauterine devices (IUDs) and implants.
  • The Colorado Family Planning Initiative has increased health care provider education and training and reduced costs for more expensive contraceptive options, enabling more than 30,000 women in the state to choose long-acting reversible contraception.
Fact sheets

About unintended pregnancy
  • Unintended pregnancies result in approximately 10,000 abortions in Colorado each year.
  • Children born from unplanned pregnancies face a greater risk for poor physical and mental health, child abuse and lower educational attainment.
  • Women with unplanned pregnancies are at greater risk for poor health later in life, including increased likelihood of depression, physical abuse, diabetes and obesity.
About long-acting reversible contraception (LARC)
Long-acting reversible contraceptives (IUDs and implants) are safe, work to prevent pregnancy, and are proven to be the most effective form of contraception available (more than 99 percent effective).
About Colorado’s efforts to reduce unintended pregnancy
  • When contraception, particularly the long-acting methods, became more readily available in Colorado between 2009 and 2013, the abortion rate fell 42 percent among all women ages 15 to 19 and 18 percent among women ages 20 to 24.
  • Colorado is a national leader in the use of long-acting reversible contraception, and reducing teen pregnancy and repeat pregnancies.
    • Teen birth rates in our state have declined more rapidly than in any other state or the nation as a whole.
  • The birth rate for Medicaid-eligible women ages 15 to 24 dropped sharply from 2010 to 2012, resulting in an estimated $49 million to $111 million avoided expenses in Medicaid birth-related costs alone.
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