Abstract
Study Objective
Sexual minority women are more likely than heterosexual peers to have a teen pregnancy,
though little is known about origins of this disparity. Our objective was to describe
teen pregnancy experiences among sexual minority women and elucidate potential risk
factors.
Design
As a part of the SexuaL Orientation, Gender Identity, and Pregnancy Experiences (SLOPE)
study, in-depth semistructured interviews and surveys were conducted.
Setting
Across the United States.
Participants
Interviews were conducted with 10 sexual minority cisgender women, ages 21-66 years,
who experienced a teen pregnancy.
Main Outcome Measures
Interview transcripts were analyzed using immersion/crystallization and template organizing
style approaches. The themes were contextualized using survey data and organized into
a conceptual model.
Results and Conclusion
Participants first became pregnant between ages 12 and 19 years; all pregnancies were
described as unintentional. Half of the pregnancies resulted from sexual assault.
Most of the remaining pregnancies resulted from consensual sex with a boyfriend or
regular partner with whom the participant reported inconsistent or no contraceptive
use. Five primary themes emerged from participants’ interviews: (1) sexuality; (2)
life history and contextual factors before pregnancy; (3) abuse and assault; (4) reactions
to the pregnancy; and (5) pregnancy outcomes. Future research should assess each theme
to explore its contribution to the higher burden of teen pregnancies among sexual
minority compared with heterosexual women; such data can inform public health prevention
campaigns and evidenced-based curricula for health care providers who care for adolescents.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 27, 2019
Footnotes
The authors indicate no conflicts of interest.
This work was presented, in part, at the 2018 American Public Health Association Meeting and Exposition in San Diego, California.
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc.
