Some Girls Want To Be Pregnant

Posting Date: 07/23/2004

While the researchers say the likelihood of a significantly older partner was surprising, the frequency of girls with a desire to be pregnant having casual sexual partners was more telling.

?These findings suggest that the perceived role of the male partner in parenthood, other than to assist with conception, may be minimal from the adolescent girl?s perspective,? Davies says.

Considering that adolescent girls who want to be pregnant behave in ways that will help them meet their goal, researchers say, public health practitioners and policy makers will need to address this particular population with a tailored campaign. Some suggestions the researchers make include education to help this population understand the realities of motherhood, amending health education programs that assume adolescents regard pregnancy as negatively as they view HIV and other STDs, and increasing public recognition that adolescent childbearing is ?a symptom of larger social and economic predicaments.?

The study was supported by a grant from the Center for Mental Health Research on AIDS, National Institute of Mental Health.

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