“…Society is, at the end of the day, still going to stigmatize you no matter which way”: A qualitative study of the impact of stigma on social support during unintended pregnancy in early adulthood

Abstract

Unintended pregnancy in adolescence and early adulthood is stigmatized in the United States because it deviates from social norms that consider young people’s sexuality as a social problem. While limited, prior research has found that this stigma prevents young people from telling people in their lives about their pregnancies, for fear of judgment or negative reactions. We hypothesized that this selective disclosure of unintended pregnancy due to stigma would reduce the social support available to young pregnant people at a particularly vulnerable time—social support that we know is important for optimal physical and mental health of the young person, and the pregnancy (should they choose to carry to term). To explore this hypothesis, we conducted a qualitative study among young people to understand if and how they experienced stigma in relation to an unintended pregnancy, how this stigma shaped patterns of pregnancy disclosure, the implications for received social support, and participant thoughts on how to alleviate the influence of this stigma on their lives. In in-depth interviews with 25 young people in the San Francisco Bay area who had experienced at least one unintended pregnancy, using a thematic analysis approach, we found that the stigma of unintended pregnancy led participants to selectively disclose the pregnancy to limited people, which in turn cut them off from needed sources of social support. Black and Hispanic women disproportionately described this experience. Participants expressed a desire for programs that would connect young people who had experienced unplanned pregnancy to each other–either via the internet, organized groups through clinical care sites, college or high school campuses, or other forums—as a way to alleviate stigma, share perspectives and lessons learned, and otherwise build emotional and informational support networks for themselves where their usual support had fallen away.

“We Don't Fear HIV. We Just Fear Walking around Pregnant.”: A Qualitative Analysis of Adolescent Sexuality and Pregnancy Stigma in Informal Settlements in Kisumu, Kenya

“…Our findings build upon previous research examining social stigma of adolescent SRH by adding nuance to the intensity of the fear and how it affects behaviors, with sometimes fatal consequences (Moseson et al. 2019; Smith et al. 2017; Rice et al.…”

“…The fear of pregnancy among adolescents in Kisumu is driven primarily by fears that their community will discover their sexual activity. Our findings build upon previous research examining social stigma of adolescent SRH by adding nuance to the intensity of the fear and how it affects behaviors, with sometimes fatal consequences (Moseson et al 2019;Smith et al 2017;Rice et al 2018;Kaljee et al 2007;Akwara and Idele 2020;Hall et al 2018;Levandowski et al 2012). Inclusion of perspectives from boys and the FGD format where social norms were intentionally explored provides new insights on SRH stigma and the focus on abortion and suicide prevalence are novel insights.…”

“…Social norms around sex, contraception, pregnancy, and abortion have a significant impact on the decision‐making of adolescents aged 15–19 years (Moseson et al. 2019; Smith et al. 2017).…”

“…Social norms around sex, contraception, pregnancy, and abortion have a significant impact on the decision-making of adolescents aged 15-19 years (Moseson et al 2019;Smith et al 2017). Social norms are what is considered acceptable behavior within a community, while social stigma is disapproval and retribution when those norms are violated (Bicchieri 2006;Goffman 1959).…”

Factors Related to Seeking Help for Postpartum Depression: A Secondary Analysis of New York City PRAMS Data

“…Women with unintended pregnancies often find themselves stigmatized by their environment, and may lack the social support that other mothers receive [ 38 ]. As earlier research suggests, greater social support has been tied to higher rates of seeking help for PPD [ 39 ].…”