Beyond the discourse of reproductive choice: narratives of pregnancy resolution among Latina/o teenage parents

Abstract

Despite the fact that the US teenage birth rate has declined dramatically in recent years, teen births among Latinas are higher than any other racial/ethnic group. Most studies focus on the causes and consequences of early motherhood among Latina teenagers, neglecting other important dimensions of the issue. This study examines how Latina/o teenage parents living in California narrate their experiences with unintended pregnancy resolution. Qualitative analysis reveals three central themes. First, participants expressed shock upon learning they or their partner was pregnant, followed by acceptance about their impending parenthood. Second, participants' views of abortion and adoption largely foreclosed these options as pathways by which to resolve their unintended pregnancies. Third, participants recounted numerous stories of the messages they received from parents, other family members and male partners that were frequently directive regarding how to resolve their pregnancies. These findings have implications for young people's reproductive health and rights, and for reproductive justice more broadly.

Pese a que el número de embarazos adolescentes ha disminuido radicalmente en los últimos años, la tasa de nacimientos entre adolescentes latinas es más alta que en otros grupos raciales o étnicos. En la mayoría de estudios se presta atención a las causas y consecuencias de una maternidad temprana entre adolescentes latinas, ignorando otros aspectos importantes de este problema. En este estudio analizamos cómo explican los padres adolescentes latinos que viven en California sus experiencias a la hora de tratar con embarazos no deseados. El análisis cualitativo indica tres temas centrales. En primer lugar, los participantes mostraron asombro al saber que ellas o sus parejas estaban embarazadas y luego aceptaron su inminente maternidad o paternidad. En segundo lugar, al opinar sobre el aborto o la adopción, los participantes daban por sentado en gran medida que estas opciones eran vías para solucionar sus embarazos no deseados. En tercer lugar, los participantes informaron sobre muchas de las recomendaciones recibidas por sus padres, otros familiares y compañeros con respecto a cómo solucionar sus embarazos y que con frecuencia en vez de consejos eran más bien órdenes. Estos resultados tienen repercusiones en la salud y los derechos reproductivos de los jóvenes y para la justicia reproductiva en general.

Malgré la diminution sensible de la natalité adolescente aux États-Unis ces dernières années, celle-ci reste plus fréquente parmi les Latinas que dans d'autres groupes ethniques. La plupart des études se concentrent sur les causes et les conséquences de la maternité précoce chez les adolescentes latinas, au mépris d'autres aspects importants de ce phénomène. Cette étude examine comment les parents adolescents latinos vivant en Californie rapportent leurs expériences de résolution des grossesses non désirées. L'analyse qualitative révèle trois thèmes centraux. Premièrement, les participant(e)s (ou leurs partenaires, s'ils étaient des adolescents) ont ressenti un choc en apprenant qu'elles étaient enceintes, et ce choc a été suivi d'une phase d'acceptation de leur rôle parental imminent. Deuxièmement, les points de vue des participants sur l'avortement et sur l'adoption ont fortement entravé le recours à ces options en tant que moyens de résolution des grossesses non désirées. Troisièmement, les participantes ont rapporté avoir reçu de nombreux messages directifs de parents, d'autres membres de leur famille et de partenaires masculins, en ce qui concerne les moyens de résoudre leurs grossesses. Ces résultats ont des implications pour la santé et les droits en matière de reproduction des jeunes et, plus largement, pour la justice dans ce même domaine.

Keywords::

• Latino
• teenage pregnancy
• pregnancy resolution
• USA

Acknowledgements

This study was conducted under the direction of Cynthia A. Gómez, with institutional review board approval from San Francisco State University. The authors wish to thank the anonymous reviewers, Vanessa Mercado and the members of the Reproductive Justice Working Group of the Center on Reproductive Rights and Justice at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, for their thoughtful suggestions and constructive feedback on earlier drafts of this article as well as all those who made this research possible, including the participants who generously shared their experiences and perspectives.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

^1. We use Latina/o throughout this article to refer to people currently living in the USA who are either US- or foreign-born and whose ancestral origin includes Mexico, Central America, South America and/or the Hispanophone Caribbean, regardless of race or gender. When referring to both Latina women and Latino men, we use the conjunction Latina/o and Latinas/os to reflect our commitment to non-sexist language.

^2. Researchers typically define unintended pregnancies as either mistimed or unwanted (Finer and Kost 2011). While this definition is not without its limitations (see Santelli et al. 2003), we use it here.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation.