CDC report: More girls use best kinds of birth control

ATLANTA (AP) — More teen girls now use the best kinds of birth control, a new government study says.

About 60 percent of teen girls who have sex use the most effective kinds of contraception, including the pill and patch.

That's up from the mid-90s, when less than half were using the best kinds, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found.

The trend in better contraception is helping to drive down the teen birth rate, health officials said.

The CDC released the report Thursday. It's based on a national survey of 2,300 girls ages 15 to 19, conducted in the years 2006 through 2010.