Reproductive coercion among women living with HIV

Abstract

Background Unintended pregnancy is prevalent among women living with HIV, and is associated with poor health outcomes for women and babies. Reproductive coercion may be one unexplored mechanism for this elevated risk. Methods Past year reproductive coercion data were obtained via self-reported survey from a sample of women receiving HIV specialty care in Baltimore, MD. Results Eleven of the 67 women (16.4%) included in the sample reported past year reproductive coercion. Almost two thirds (64%) of women reporting reproductive coercion were also positive for recent PTSD symptoms compared to 27% of women who did not report reproductive coercion (Fisher’s Exact p=0.033). Discussion The prevalence of reproductive coercion among our sample of in care women living with HIV suggests that attention should be paid to the impact of partner influence and coercive behaviors regarding pregnancy intentions. Because of the many potential negative consequences of unintended pregnancy for women living with HIV, it is important that providers be aware of such abuse and steps that can be taken to identify and support patients who are experiencing reproductive coercion.

Correlates of reproductive coercion among college women in abusive relationships: baseline data from the college safety study

“…Studies of broad populations of women identify certain risk factors for RC, which include younger age, 14 lower socioeconomic status (SES), 15 single relationship status, 1,14,15 and African American race, Latina ethnicity or multiracial. 1,6,15 In addition to IPV and unintended pregnancy, RC is associated with health risks and outcomes such as early sexual initiation, 16 multiple sex partners, 16 decreased contraceptive use, 16 increased depression 16 and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 16,17 sexually transmitted infections (STIs) 16,18,19 and transactional sex. 20 IPV is associated with a range of health consequences; specifically among college-aged women, IPV is shown to be associated with mental health concerns such as PTSD 21 and poor self-reported emotional health, 22 traumatic brain injury (TBI), 23 substance use, 22 increased STIs 22 and decreased contraceptive use.…”

Patterns of changing pregnancy intentions among women living with HIV in Canada

“…Recruitment strategies extended beyond clinics and aimed to include women less engaged in healthcare and research. Our prospective assessment of pregnancy intention overcomes biases inherent in previous studies that collected pregnancy intention data retrospectively [ 7 , 32 , 54 , 55 ].…”

Évaluation et compréhension de la coercition reproductive exercée sur les femmes : étude exploratoire auprès de professionnels de la santé en Belgique

“…Les répercussions de la CR peuvent être multiples pour les femmes qui la subissent. Tout d'abord, la santé reproductive peut être impactée par une grossesse non désirée (Miller et al, 2010a ;Miller et al, 2014), par l'l'interruption volontaire de grossesse (IVG) (Thiel de Bocanegra et al, 2010 ;Anderson et al 2017), par la dissimulation de la prise de contraceptif (Silveramn et al, 2020) ou par le choix d'une méthode contraceptive à long terme et permanente comme l'implant intra-utérin ou la stérilisation (Thiel de Bocanegra et al, 2010). Ensuite, il peut y avoir un impact sur la santé sexuelle à travers le risque de contracter des infections sexuellement transmissibles (IST) (Thiel de Bocanegra et al, 2010 ;Rowlands et Parker, 2019) ou de générer des dysfonctions sexuelles telles que la baisse du désir et du plaisir sexuel (Lévesque et Rousseau, 2019a ;Lévesque et al, 2021).…”