Search

Our objective was to examine the relationship between pregnancy desire among female adolescents and their perception of desire for pregnancy in their male partners. This is an observational cross-sectional study which examined 92 surveys administered to adolescent women between the ages of 14 to 19 years at two obstetrical care services serving a population from limited socioeconomic backgrounds. Participants were all pregnant or awaiting pregnancy test results. Participants were asked about their levels of pregnancy happiness and desire and their partners' levels of pregnancy happiness and desire. Spearman's correlation coefficient was calculated and discordant pairs were examined with McNemar's test. Logistic regression was utilized to examine the relationship between male and female pregnancy happiness and desire. We found that there was a significant correlation between the adolescents' feelings about pregnancy and their perceptions of their male partners' feelings about pregnancy (0.326; P = .004). McNemar's test indicated that male partners were significantly more likely to be reported to feel positively about the pregnancy than female partners (P = .017). Female adolescents who reported male partners who felt positively about the pregnancy were four times as likely to report having desired their pregnancy now or sooner (odds ratio [OR] = 4.35). We conclude that male partners may impact adolescent pregnancy desire. Further prospective studies are needed and male-focused adolescent pregnancy interventions should be developed.

We wished to examine variables associated with pregnancy desire among pregnant adolescents from low socioeconomic backgrounds. This study analyzed 335 charts at a state-funded family planning clinic. Participants were adolescents who had a positive pregnancy test at the clinic on the day of the survey. Logistic regression was utilized to determine differences in pregnancy desire. We found that Hispanic teens were more than twice as likely to desire pregnancy as African American teens (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 2.22; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.22-3.65), and adolescents who were not in school were almost twice as likely as those who were in school full-time to desire pregnancy (AOR, 1.83; 95% CI, 1.08-3.09). Hispanic teens who were not in school were 12 times more likely to desire pregnancy than African American teens who were in school full-time (odds ratio [OR], 11.47; 95% CI, 3.68-35.75). Adolescent pregnancy desire is significantly associated with educational status and racial background. Developing culturally appropriate interventions to encourage continued education and asking about community and familial norms are essential steps in addressing this issue.