The National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy

2011 National Day a Success!

Hundreds of thousands of teens nationwide are expected to participate in the eleventh annual National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy on May 2, 2012. The purpose of the National Day is straightforward. Too many teens still think “It can’t happen to me.” The National Day helps teens understand that it can happen to them and that they need to think seriously about what they would do in the moment.

Why a National Day?

The extraordinary declines in teen pregnancy and childbearing over the past two decades have proven to cynics that progress can be made on tough issues. In fact, few social problems have improved quite as dramatically over the past 20 years as teen pregnancy.

The latest news on the teen pregnancy front has been positive. The U.S. teen birth rate declined 9% in 2010 – the most recent year for which data is available – and is now at a record low.

Despite this progress, it is still the case that 3 in 10 girls get pregnant by age 20. This suggests that we all need to continue helping teens postpone their families until they are older, through school, and in stable, committed relationships.

We hope that – in some modest way – the National Day helps teens think carefully about sex, relationships, contraception, the possibility of pregnancy, and the lifelong challenges of being a parent.

About the National Day

On the National Day and throughout May, teens nationwide will be asked to go to StayTeen.org to participate in a number of online activities—including our popular National Day Quiz—that deliver teen pregnancy prevention messages and challenge them to think carefully about what they might do “in the moment.” The message of the National Day is straightforward: Sex has consequences.

In 2010, more than 650,000 people participated in the tenth annual National Day. Participants were able to take the quiz online, download a print version in English or Spanish, and play out interactive game. National Day Quiz discussion guides for parents and teens were also available and were downloaded thousands of times.

Making a Difference

Each year, we ask teens to tell us what they thought about the National Day Quiz in a post-quiz evaluation survey and many do. Among the findings from this year’s survey:

• 72% said the Quiz made them think about what they might do in such situations;
• 62% said some of the situations in the Quiz were things that they or their friends had faced;
• 61% said they’d talk to their friends about the situations described in the Quiz;
• 61% said the Quiz made the risks of sex and teen pregnancy seem more real to them;
• 52% said they’d encourage others to take the Quiz;
• 52% said the Quiz made them think about things they hadn’t thought about before;
• 46% said they’d learned something new from the Quiz about the consequences of sex; and
• 40% said they’d talk to their parents or other adults about the situations described in the Quiz.

For more results and to see what teen's themselves are saying about the National Day Quiz, please see our 2011 National Day Overview.

National Day Partnerships

The National Campaign works with a variety of partners to make the National Day a success year after year.

• National Partnerships. More than 200 national organizations partnered with The National Campaign to promote the 2011 National Day. National Day partners include a diverse group of media outlets, health sector leaders, education leaders, businesses, youth-serving groups, groups representing elected officials, fatherhood and male involvement groups, faith-based groups, and other prominent national organizations. Many of these groups promoted the National Day to their members, affiliates, customers, audiences, and contacts in ways The National Campaign could never have afforded or accomplished on its own. For a complete list of 2011 National Day Partners, visit our 2011 National Day Partnership page.
• Media Partnerships. Each year, The National Campaign works with a variety of online and traditional media partners to spread the word about the National Day. Among this year's partners are FOX Broadcasting Co., The CW Television Network, NBC, TeenNick, MTV, Tr3S, Mun2, and many others. For more information about our National Day media partnerships, visit our Media Partnerships page.
• State and Local Partnerships. The National Day continues to be a remarkable organizing event for states and communities nationwide. To help these state and local promotional efforts, the National Campaign develops and distributes a variety of teen-friendly materials—such as National Day wristbands and pens—to help raise awareness of the National Day among teens and adult professionals who work with teens. For a state-by-state breakdown of National Day activities, please visit our 2011 National Day Activities section.

Are you planning a 2012 National Day event in your community? We want to know about it. Send your National Day stories to mrosst@thenc.org.

Learn More

It's never too early to start planning for the 2012 National Day. Stay tuned to this page in the coming months for information and resources from the National Campaign. If have have any specific questions, please contact Michael Rosst at 202-478-8507 or mrosst@thenc.org. To receive timely updates about the 2012 National Day, please sign up for our National Day Notification Network.