Electronic baby dolls don't work to cut teen pregnancy rates - they increase them, Australian researchers say.
It might be time to throw the electronic baby out with the bath water, with research showing the educational dolls don't work to cut teen pregnancy rates.
In fact, young girls exposed to the robot babies - designed to simulate the "real experience" of having a baby - are more likely to get pregnant.
A landmark Australian study, published in The Lancet, has found that teenage girls who used the dolls as part of a pregnancy prevention programme were more, not less, likely to become pregnant.
The electronic "Baby Think It Over" dolls were part of a Virtual Infant Parenting (VIP) programme run in 57 schools in Western Australia, first implemented in 2003.
Similar programmes, based on the US concept, are now delivered in 89 countries, despite there being no robust evidence of their effectiveness.
Researchers from the Telethon Kids Institute in Western Australia conducted a randomised control assessment of the VIP program and warn that these electronic babies are an ineffective use of public funds.
Nearly 3000 Western Australian school girls aged 13-15 participated in the study.
It was found the girls who did the VIP programme had higher rates of pregnancy, at 17%, by the age of 20 compared to those who did not, at 11%.
Of the girls who did fall pregnant half (58%) had abortions, compared to 60% of girls from the control group.
While the researchers say this isn't statistically significant, it does show girls exposed to the programme were more likely to go through with the pregnancy.
Lead Investigator Dr Sally Brinkman says their study highlights that even the most well-intentioned programmes can have "unexpected consequences".
"Australia has the sixth highest teen pregnancy rate out of 21 OECD countries and this study will help policy makers better tackle the issue," she said.
