A new study released by the CDC shows that teen birth rates in the US has dropped. In fact, it’s the lowest it’s been since the National Center for Health Statistics started keeping records of teen birth rates. And while there may be some debate as to the cause, anyone studying the results would be hard pressed to deny that the likely key to the drop is the rise of birth control use among teens.

While teen birth rates of 34 births per 1000 girls ages 14-19 are still high

compared to other developed countries, this decline marks a success in an ongoing campaign to lower the teen birth rate. But the CDC also released a study that showed that teens aren’t having less sex, in fact, they found no significant change in sexual activity among teens in 10 years. And the rate of abortions among teen girls has declined as well,

a sign that abortions aren’t the cause for the lower teen birth rate.

It seems that teens are simply better able to get, and use, contraception.

Research shows that hormonal contraceptive use in the form of birth control pills has jumped in girls ages 14-19 to 47% of all girls in this age range taking some form of them. IUD use among teen girls has also jumped, from 1.4% in 2006 to 5% in 2010. And the studies showed that teens are far more likely these days to use dual methods of birth control at once for added protection, with a full 23% of girls using two methods.

Recent changes in medical policies have made birth control easier and more accessible to teen girls, which is directly related to the increase in effective birth control use among this age group. New findings regarding who is a good candidate for IUD contraceptives have helped, as they are now approved for use in young women wishing to postpone pregnancy for several years. And many doctors will now prescribe birth control pills without a pelvic exam and pap smear, making more teen girls likely to ask for them.

All of these statistics, when viewed collectively, point to effective use of available birth control as having a direct effect on the decline of teen birth rates. This is good news for sex educations advocates, but not such good news for those states who continue to teach abstinence only sex ed. In these states, studies show that teen pregnancy rates actually rose in 2010.

This new data on teen birth rates is a clear sign

that making birth control easily available to teens not only lowers their risk of teen pregnancy, but also their likelihood of seeking abortion services. Advising teens to simply avoid sex doesn’t seem to help, and instead increases their chances of teen pregnancy. Giving teens the power to prevent pregnancy makes a huge difference and presenting both options teen birth could decrease even more.