The pediatrician and the prevention of adolescent pregnancy.

Some unplanned adolescent pregnancies may be averted through education and preventive servies provided by the teen-ager's physician. This paper discusses the need for such services, and reviews the current literature concerning issues surrounding adolescent contraception--professional acceptability, legality, public attitudes, morality, and appropriateness to the pediatrician's role. The authors conclude that recent developments make the pediatrician's involvement in adolescent sexuality counseling entirely feasible.