RESUMO
Despite a national decline in teenage pregnancy rates, Latinxs and Black individuals continue to have higher teenage birth rates compared to white teens. In the United States, Latinx females (ages 15-19) are more than twice as likely to have a teenage birth compared to non-Latinx white teens. With an increasingly diverse nation, a shift towards culturally inclusive approaches to care is critical to achieving equitable patient outcomes. Improving access to preventative care, workforce diversity, and insurance coverage will lead to cost-savings and also help restore trust in a system that has failed past generations. In this commentary, targeted recommendations tailored specifically towards Latinx women will be provided including culturally competent birth control counseling, and a focus on reproductive justice. Not speaking English, low socioeconomic status, acculturation, legal status, and being uninsured are all teenage pregnancy risk factors unique to Latinx women. Cultural preferences and attitudes towards contraception must also be considered. Further expansion of Medicaid insurance coverage is also necessary to increase reproductive access among vulnerable populations. A cultural humility framework to reproductive health counseling and services is recommended. Within this framework family engagement is encouraged and women are free from reproductive coercion; they have the freedom to access over-the-counter contraception and receive guidance and support from providers and community health workers who are cognizant of culture and heritage. An integrated community-based approach that is culturally sensitive and in tune with Latinx heterogenicity is necessary to lower teenage pregnancy rates and achieve reproductive justice.