title: Sex Work and Motherhood: Social and Structural Barriers to Health and Social Services for Pregnant and Parenting Street and Off-Street Sex Workers.
abstract: Our study documents the correlates of barriers to pregnancy and mothering among sex workers in Vancouver, Canada. We used baseline data from An Evaluation of Sex Workers' Health Access (AESHA), a prospective cohort of sex workers. Among the 399 sex workers who had ever been pregnant or had a child, 35% reported having ever experienced a barrier, with lower education, homelessness, and history of injecting drugs significantly correlated with pregnancy and mothering barriers. Our findings highlight a critical need for tailored and nonjudgmental services and supports, including improved programs to address intersecting aspects of poverty, health literacy, stigma, and substance use.
authors.affiliation: a British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital , Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada.
authors.forename: Putu
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Duff
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shoveller
authors.forename: Jill
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chettiar
authors.forename: Cindy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nicoletti
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shannon
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers; D016487:Parenting; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011477:Sex Work / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D060386:Sex Workers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D057545:Social Stigma; D012947:Social Work; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014754:Violence