Study Examines Reproductive Coercion Of Female Teens By Partners

About one in five female patients at family planning centers report experiencing reproductive coercion -- pressure by a male partner through verbal threats, physical violence or birth control tampering to become pregnant, according to a study published in the journal Contraception, Newsweek reports.

The study, led by Elizabeth Miller of University of California-Davis, examined 1,300 female patients ages 16 through 29 at five family planning centers in Northern California. One-third of patients who reported partner violence and 15% of those who did not report violence said that their partner attempted to coerce them into pregnancy. "What we're seeing is that, in the larger scheme of violence against women and girls, it is another way to maintain control," Miller said.

Miller plans to release a study in later 2010 that shows similar rates of reproductive coercion among older women. She said that younger women might have a more difficult time dealing with reproductive coercion and that they are less likely to recognize it as a problem, particularly in relationships with older men.

According to Newsweek, the study is "particularly relevant" given new data on teen pregnancy released Tuesday by the Guttmacher Institute. The Guttmacher research showed that the teen pregnancy rate increased from 2005 to 2006, the first increase since 1990. Newsweek reports that reproductive coercion could be an "overlooked factor" in the U.S. teen pregnancy rate. Leslie Walker, chief of adolescent medicine at Seattle Children's Hospital, who is not affiliated with either study, said, "I think (reproductive coercion) is underreported and not thought about as often as it should be," adding, "Just like violence, it's a power thing."

Miller said she is hesitant to categorize reproductive coercion as a form of partner violence because doing so would require providers to report such incidents to authorities under many states' laws. She added that clinicians should focus on either offering birth control that could be hidden from a partner -- such as Depo-Provera shots -- and building a relationship with the patient to help her consider ending the relationship. If a patient reports that she does not wish to become pregnant, "[i]t really behooves clinicians to offer her methods where she can control the outcome, whether her partner agrees or not," Miller said (Kliff, Newsweek, 1/26).


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