Intimate Relationship Dynamics and Changing Desire for Pregnancy Among Young Women

Abstract

Although substantial research has focused on unintended pregnancy among young women, less is known about the circumstances under which pregnancy is desired. Whether a young woman ' s pregnancy desire changes across her diff erent relationships, or over time within a relationship, has not been directly assessed. METHODS : Data on intimate relationships and pregnancy desire were assessed weekly for 895 women aged 18-22 who participated in the Relationship Dynamics and Social Life study in a county in Michigan (2008Michigan ( -2012. Withinbetween logistic regression models were used to examine within-cluster and between-cluster diff erences-comparisons of a woman ' s pregnancy desire within a relationship over time as well as across a woman ' s diff erent relationships. RESULTS :Young women were more likely to desire pregnancy if they were in any relationship more intimate and committed than a casual relationship (odds ratios, 1.6-9.2); the odds of desiring pregnancy were also higher in long-term relationships rather than in short-term ones (2.1). In general, pregnancy desire increased over time as a relationship endured and became more serious. The odds of desiring pregnancy were lower among women with less educated, rather than equally educated, partners (0.7), while the odds were higher in nonmonogamous or violent relationships than in monogamous or nonviolent relationships (1.6 and 1.9, respectively).CONCLUSIONS : Young women ' s pregnancy desire changes depending on their intimate relationship context, across the range of relationships they experience during the transition to adulthood. INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS AND PREGNANCY DESIRESome research has directly investigated whether intimate relationships aff ect the desire for pregnancy. For example, Edin and Kefalas ' s groundbreaking study of disadvantaged

Childbearing intention and its associated factors: A systematic review

“…Couples prefer to postpone their childbearing intentions in the early years of the marriage. In general, pregnancy desire increased over time as a relationship endured and became more serious (Barbe et al., 2019 ).…”

Pathways to Parenthood in Social and Family Contexts: Decade in Review, 2020

“…For instance, after accounting for socioeconomic differences, Black women actually have less positive attitudes toward early and unintended childbearing than White women, although they perceive more positive consequences if such pregnancies occur (Barber, Yarger, & Gatny, ; Hayford & Guzzo, ). Further, while Black women are just as likely as White women to form and express preferences about the number and timing of childbearing (Barber, Guzzo, Kusunoki, Hayford, & Miller, ), they feel less confident about being able to control their own reproductive experiences (Barber et al, ; Kusunoki, Barber, Ela, & Bucek, ). There are also some unique concerns about contraception that could affect fertility among Black women.…”

The Dynamics of Intimate Relationships and Contraceptive Use During Early Emerging Adulthood

“…Second, as motivation turns away from preventing STIs and solely toward preventing pregnancy, couples may switch to hormonal methods because they are more effective (Harvey et al 2017;Hock-Long et al 2012;Kusunoki and Upchurch 2011). Recent research has shown that desire for pregnancy increases within a relationship as it becomes more intimate and committed (Barber et al 2019), and this is a strong predictor of contraceptive use (Moreau et al 2012). Even among couples who want to prevent pregnancy, tolerance of an undesired pregnancy may increase as a relationship becomes more intimate and committed (Edin and Kefalas 2005;Weitzman et al 2017).…”

“…Weitzman et al (2019) showed that women are also more likely to use condoms when they themselves are nonmonogamous. Women also expect to have less control over sex and contraceptive use when they believe their partner is having sex outside the dyad relative to when they believe that same partner is behaving monogamously (Kusunoki and Barber 2019), but they also tend to perceive the partner as having less desire for pregnancy when they are nonmonogamous (Barber et al 2019).…”

“…The vast majority of young emerging adult women want to avoid or postpone pregnancy (Barber et al 2019). However, although undesired pregnancy rates in the United States are high at all ages, they are particularly high at ages 18-19, 20-24, and 25-29: respectively, 71, 81, and 66 per thousand, compared with 20 for ages 15-17, 43 for ages 30-34, and 16 for ages 35 and older (Finer and Zolna 2016).…”