Happiness About Unintended Pregnancy And Its Relationship to Contraceptive Desires Among a Predominantly Latina Cohort. Issue 2 (June 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Aiken, Abigail R.A.
• Is Part Of: Perspectives on sexual and reproductive health. Volume 47:Issue 2(2015:Jun.)
• Page Start: 99
• Page End: 106
• Publication Date: 2015-06
• Subjects: Birth control -- Periodicals; Birth control -- United States -- Periodicals; Reproductive health -- United States -- Periodicals; Family planning services -- Periodicals; 363.96
• DOI: 10.1363/47e2215
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1538-6341

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="psrh47e2215-abs-0001"> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <sec id="psrh47e2215-sec-0001" sec-type="section"> <title>CONTEXT</title> <p id="psrh47e2215-para-0002">Women frequently profess happiness about unintended pregnancies; such incongruence is associated with use of less effective contraceptive methods and inconsistent or incorrect method use. Yet, the methods women use may differ from those they desire.</p> </sec> <sec id="psrh47e2215-sec-0002" sec-type="section"> <title>METHODS</title> <p id="psrh47e2215-para-0003">Data on 578 women were drawn from a prospective survey of postpartum women aged 18–44 recruited from three hospitals in Texas between 2012 and 2014. Jonckheere‐Terpstra tests were used to compare women's feelings about a future pregnancy with their childbearing intentions. Fisher‐Freeman‐Halton tests compared distributions of contraceptive methods currently used and desired by women who professed happiness about a future unintended pregnancy, as well as distributions of desired methods by women's reported feelings.</p> </sec> <sec id="psrh47e2215-sec-0003" sec-type="section"> <title>RESULTS</title> <p id="psrh47e2215-para-0004">The proportion of women who reported happiness about a future pregnancy was 59% among those intending to wait two or three years for another child, 46% among those intending to wait four or more years, and 36% among those intending to have no more children. Among women who professed happiness, a greater proportion desired to use a highly effective contraceptive method than were currently using one (72% vs. 15% among those intending no more children; 55% vs. 23% among those intending to wait at least four years; and 36% vs. 10% among those intending to wait two or three years). Across intention categories, the types of methods desired did not differ by whether women professed happiness or unhappiness.</p> </sec> <sec id="psrh47e2215-sec-0004" sec-type="section"> <title>CONCLUSIONS</title> <p id="psrh47e2215-para-0005">Women who profess happiness about a future unintended pregnancy may nonetheless desire highly effective contraceptive methods.</p> </sec> </abstract>