It’s the Thought that Counts: Pregnancy Intention and Relationship Stressors Across SES
Does whether a pregnancy was planned or unplanned affect how much relationship stress and conflict a couple experiences during pregnancy, and does this vary based on the family's income level?
College of Health researcher(s)
Abstract
Pregnancy intention (PI) and interpartner stress during pregnancy is associated with negative outcomes for mothers, their relationships, and their children. Low socioeconomic status (SES) families experience high stress, and low SES mothers disproportionately experience unintended pregnancies. Oregon Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (N = 7062) data was used to examine associations between PI (intended, unwanted, mistimed) and relationship stressors (interpartner conflict, intimate partner violence [IPV] with partner or ex-partner, relationship dissolution) and interactions with SES. Unwanted pregnancies predicted greater odds of all relationship stressors than mistimed pregnancies, and greater odds for all stressors except ex-partner IPV than intended pregnancies. Mistimed pregnancies predicted greater odds of interpartner conflict and relationship dissolution and lower odds of IPV than intended pregnancies. Low SES mothers had greater odds of experiencing stressors when their pregnancies were unwanted or mistimed. These findings have important implications for family planning policies, couple interventions during pregnancy, and potential post-birth home visiting.