Is repeat pregnancy in adolescents a "planned" affair?
This study assessed whether girls who become pregnant more than once do so for different reasons than girls who are pregnant for the first time. Girls in group 1 (G1) were pregnant for the first time (n = 104, 69%) and those in group 2 (G2) were pregnant for the second time or more (n = 46, 31%). About 60% of the girls in G2 had living children at home, but they were more likely than those in G1 to state that they became pregnant because they wanted a baby (G2 44%, G1 21%; p less than 0.01) and, conversely, girls in G1 were more likely than those in G2 to state that the pregnancy was an accident and "just happened" (G1 61%, G2 37%; p less than 0.01). Many girls who become pregnant more than once appear to do so intentionally.
Matsuhashi
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Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, School of Medicine.
Felice
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ME
Shragg
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Hollingsworth
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DR
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002140:California; D002648:Child; D005193:Family Planning Services; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010298:Parity; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000523:psychology*; D011446:Prospective Studies