title: Managing unplanned pregnancies in five countries: perspectives on contraception and abortion decisions.
abstract: Why is induced abortion common in environments in which modern contraception is readily available? This study analyses qualitative data collected from focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with women and men from low-income areas in five countries--the United States, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru and Mexico--to better understand how couples manage their pregnancy risk. Across all settings, women and men rarely weigh the advantages and disadvantages of contraception and abortion before beginning a sexual relationship or engaging in sexual intercourse. Contraception is viewed independently of abortion, and the two are linked only when the former is invoked as a preferred means to avoiding repeat abortion. For women, contraceptive methods are viewed as suspect because of perceived side effects, while abortion experience, often at significant personal risk to them, raises the spectre of social stigma and motivates better practice of contraception. In all settings, male partners figure importantly in pregnancy decisions and management. Although there are inherent study limitations of small sample sizes, the narratives reveal psychosocial barriers to effective contraceptive use and identify nodal points in pregnancy decision-making that can structure future investigations.
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA. atsui@jhsph.edu
authors.forename: Amy O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Tsui
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Casterline
authors.forename: Susheela
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Akinrinola
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bankole
authors.forename: Ann M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Adekunbi Kehinde
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Omideyi
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Palomino
authors.forename: Zeba
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sathar
authors.forename: Fatima
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Juarez
authors.forename: Kristen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Shellenberg
mesh_terms: D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003268:Contraception Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D008875:Middle Aged; D009549:Nigeria; D010154:Pakistan; D010568:Peru; D011247:Pregnancy; D049168:Pregnancy, Unplanned / Q000523:psychology*; D012747:Sexual Partners / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States