A new report from the University of Minnesota looks at the connection between teen sexual health trends and the pandemic.
Researcher Jill Farris says The 2023 Minnesota Adolescent Sexual Health Report shows prior trends shifting.
“Actually, our teen birth rate and our teen pregnancy rate have been declining and we saw in 2021 the pregnancy rate went up,” explains Farris.”
Farris says this may be due to lack of access to contraception during the pandemic but that it isn't from a lack of young people prioritizing their sexual health.
"We see more and more young people are feeling more comfortable talking to their partners about preventing pregnancy, about preventing STI’s,” says Farris. “And so that's a really positive trend.”
The full report aims to help Minnesotans understand the current landscape of young people’s sexual health and how better to educate teens in the future.
Minnesota’s pregnancy and birth rates continue to be at historic lows for 15-to-19-year-olds, even with a slight increase in pregnancy rates between 2021 and 2022.
The report notes that disparities in sexual health outcomes — by geography, race, sexual orientation, gender identity and ethnicity — continue to persist. Although chlamydia and gonorrhea rates decreased, STIs among youth continue to be a public health crisis. Youth bear a disproportionate burden of STIs, and Minnesota's racial/ethnic disparities are among the worst in the nation.