Self Magazine Survey Examines Reasons Behind Unintended Pregnancies Among Young Adults
March 23, 2009
Self magazine this month examined unintended pregnancies among women in their 20s, who account for the majority of abortions and unintended pregnancies in the U.S., according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. Birth rates among unmarried women in their 20s are increasing after years of little variation during the 1990s, Self reports. According to the magazine, although "[w]e want to believe that unwed mothers are teenagers who have been careless or clueless," about 1.1 million unmarried women in their 20s become pregnant each year, four in 10 of whom have at least some college education. To examine reasons behind the statistics, Self partnered with the National Campaign to conduct a survey of 2,282 unmarried women and men ages 18 to 29 on their views of contraception, sex and relationships. The magazine also held focus groups to talk to young people about the issues.
The survey found that "single women are less savvy about birth control than they think," according to Self. Half of respondents said they did not seek out information on pregnancy prevention because "they know enough already." However, when tested on prevention knowledge, "women scored six out of 11 on average and men a dismal 4.7," Self reports. Researchers found that some women have a "passive" or "ambivalent" attitude about pregnancy, with one in four women choosing the responses, "If it happens, it happens" or "It would be no big deal." Sarah Brown, CEO of the National Campaign, said, "We have a large number of single young adults who say they are not actively seeking pregnancy, but their actions don't match their words." She added, "They're not really trying, but they're not really not trying." The survey also revealed "disturbing gaps in pregnancy-prevention knowledge," with more than half of participants responding that they knew little or nothing about Depo-Provera, the vaginal ring, diaphragms, intrauterine devices and natural family planning, Self reports. In addition, one in four participants said they thought the topic of birth control was "too embarrassing to talk about," while another 21% said finding a good source of information is too difficult. Brown said, "They feel if they don't know, they should know, so they're embarrassed. But even if somebody had fantastically complete sex education in 10th grade, now they're 25 or 35." She added, "They don't have that information at their fingertips, and some of it has changed."
According to Lawrence Finer, director of domestic research for the Guttmacher Institute, the "idea of intended or unintended" pregnancy is a "distinction that doesn't apply to many women." He added, "They see pregnancy as something that occurs or doesn't occur, not something consciously chosen." Finer cited research from Guttmacher in which women with unintended pregnancies were asked, "On a scale of one to 10, how happy were you to be pregnant?" He said, "You tend to see a heaping at one, five and 10." Brown said, "Many women want children at some point, so they aren't quite willing to say every single day that they don't want to get pregnant." Sari Locker, a sexuality educator from Columbia University, noted that it is common for women in their 20s to not know "what is going to happen next in their life, period."
Self reports that for adult women, "the costs of moving forward with an unplanned pregnancy may not be as definable as with a teenager forced to drop out of high school or enter the rolls of public assistance." Shanti Kulkarni, assistant professor in the department of social work at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, said, "It's easier to coalesce around this idea that it's not good for teenagers to get pregnant. It's not as clear what pregnancy means for the life of a woman in her 20s." Nonetheless, research shows that there are "hurdles" for women facing an unintended pregnancy who are older, according to Self. Katharine O'Connell, an ob-gyn at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, said, "Unplanned pregnancies are at higher risk for complications, both for the woman and the fetus," adding, "Missing the opportunity for pre-conception and early prenatal care could expose the fetus to cigarettes, alcohol, X-rays and dangerous medications," increasing the risk for low birthweight or other complications. Self reports that studies also link unintended pregnancies with economic difficulties and interrupted educational plans.
Self also profiled several women in their 20s who experienced unintended pregnancies (Beil, Self, March 2009).
