Unintended Childbearing and Marital Instability: An Emphasis on Couples’ Intentions

Abstract

The birth of a child can negatively impact relationship functioning, especially if one or both partners did not intend to have a child. As such, unintended or disagreed-upon births may elevate the risk of dissolution. In this paper, we use the National Survey of Family Growth to consider how married couples characterize the intendedness of their first birth and examine its linkage with dissolution. Nearly one-third of first marital births are unintended by at least one parent. When fathers do not intend the birth, regardless of whether or not mothers do, couples report an elevated risk of dissolution.

‘Baby mamas’ in Urban Ghana: an exploratory qualitative study on the factors influencing serial fathering among men in Accra, Ghana

“…Fathers who tell their spouses about unwanted pregnancies are more likely to have multiple relationships [ 49 ]. By revealing unexpected pregnancies, they hoped to avoid penalties in the future.…”

Is having children associated with higher partnership stability? A novel perspective on childbearing and involuntary childlessness after medically assisted reproduction

“…Thus, among couples who conceived naturally, we could not distinguish between those who did and did not intend to get pregnant, which might be associated with different risks of separation. Previous research has shown that having an unintended pregnancy might lead to increased levels of distress in parents (Barber and Steinberg 2022;Beck 2001;Maximova and Quesnel-Vallée 2009), and to higher separation rates (Guzzo andHayford 2012, 2014;Stykes and Guzzo 2020). To gain more insight into the relative contribution of fertility intentions to partnership stability, future research should attempt to compare the partnership stability of couples who conceived through MAR, couples who intended to become parents and conceived naturally, and couples whose pregnancy was unplanned.…”

An Actor‐Partner interdependence model of parenting difficulties over time in stepfamilies

“…Biological mother‐stepfather parenting dyads account for approximately 80% of stepfamily households, as mothers are more likely to gain custody of their children after divorce (Kreider & Ellis, 2011; Stykes & Guzzo, 2015). As a result, much of the stepfamily research has focused on the development of the stepfather role (Pasley & Garneau, 2012).…”