Men’s response to Unintended Pregnancy
Qualitative research has examined some of men’s responses to unintended pregnancy[1]. Several themes have emerged.
Positive themes:
Excitement about parenting: “I’m going to be a dad!”
Reinforcement of masculinity: “Look how easily I can make a baby”
Ambivalence:
Deference: "It’s a woman’s choice, so I’ll support whatever she wants”
Negative themes:
Deference
Feeling left out of decision-making: “I can’t tell her how I feel about this”
Not being told until after the termination: “I would have done things differently”
Denial
Of paternity: “That’s not my baby!”
Of procreative responsibility: “It wasn’t my responsibility to use condoms, she told me she was being careful”
Of procreative consciousness: “I figured since she wasn’t pregnant after a year that we just couldn’t have kids together”
Of implications of unintended pregnancy: “This doesn’t change anything”
Betrayal
Paternity Fraud
Entrapment into relationship
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1. Johnson, SD. Williams, LB. Deference, denial, and exclusion: Men talk about contraception and unintended pregnancy. International journal of men’s health 4(3) 2005. 223-242.
