Statistics prove that today’s teenagers are using long-lasting methods of contraception now more than ever. A new report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shared the stats and it may be one of the reasons the birthrate among teens has declined. Read more details inside.

The study published by the CDC proves why the birthrate among teenagers has been declining for the past three decades.

Blavity shared the news saying that 19% of girls aged 15 to 19 years old have used IUDs or implants between 2015 and 2019. It’s three times more than in the years between 2011 to 2015.

Today’s generation of teens understand that long-term methods of contraception offer more practical protection and are more effective than other options like using condoms and the pill. These long-term methods do require more frequent access to a health care provider, which most teens are opting for anyway.

“Public health focuses on these because they’re easy to use,” Joyce Amba, a social scientist at the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics and co-author of the report, told TIME. “They don’t require a daily regimen like a pill, and they’re very effective.”

These numbers aren’t completely shocking as teens appear to be making themselves more knowledgeable about their options when it comes to birth control. Especially, since access to birth control and reproductive rights have recently been taken away from women and at the core of recent political discourse. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal right to abortion last year and women and girls have now sought out long-lasting method of contraception more than ever before.

Teenagers appear to be more knowledgeable about their options when it comes to birth control. The report indicates they are increasingly using more than one method of contraception. Teenagers are also using more varied forms, such as emergency contraceptives, which were used by 22% of girls from 2015 to 2019 as opposed to 8% from 2011 to 2015.

“The data in the future will be very interesting,” Amba told the news outlet, adding that it is too early to know where these trends are heading.

Comment your thoughts below.