“Imagine a pregnancy”: perspectives of Latine emerging adults from an agricultural community in California

TL;DR

This study explores how Latine emerging adults in California imagine and think about a hypothetical pregnancy and the factors influencing their decisions.

Contribution

The study provides novel insights into the socioecological factors shaping pregnancy perspectives among Latine emerging adults from agricultural communities.

Findings

Most participants reported not wanting to get pregnant or have a partner pregnant in the near future.

Participants considered a range of options for a hypothetical pregnancy, including parenting or abortion.

Socioecological influences such as individual readiness, interpersonal relationships, and community norms were discussed.

Abstract

Pregnancy perceptions and pregnancy acceptability have been identified as alternative multidimensional constructs to elucidate and integrate people's lived experiences, needs, and goals related to reproduction, pregnancy, and parenting. This study examines the perspectives of Latine emerging adults on a hypothetical pregnancy and what socioecological factors would influence pregnancy-related decisions.

In a mixed-methods prospective cohort study of emerging adults from an agricultural community in California followed since eighth grade, interviews were conducted with a subset of participants (5/2023–1/2024). In the interviews, participants were asked to reflect on a hypothetical pregnancy. Qualitative data analysis was performed using directed content and inductive analyses of the interview transcripts. Descriptive statistics were used to complement the qualitative findings and describe the participants' demographics, characteristics, and pregnancy desire.

Forty-one participants (ages 19–21 years; N = 20 female, N = 17 male, N = 4 non-binary; 12% first generation, 71% second generation, and 17% third generation immigrants) were interviewed. Most participants (N = 30) reported that they really or mostly did not want to get pregnant or get a partner pregnant now or in the next few months. When asked about a hypothetical pregnancy, most participants discussed continuing the pregnancy and parenting or having an abortion as their preferred pregnancy option. When discussing hypothetical pregnancies and related decisions, participants discussed influences across socioecological levels, including individual (reactions, maturity, readiness, finances, life trajectory), interpersonal (partners, friends, parents, other family members), and community and systems (norms, culture, laws, politics, religion, healthcare access).

These findings deepen our understanding of the influences on Latine emerging adults' perspectives of pregnancy and related decisions, which can inform the development of interventions at different socioecological levels to help individuals realize their reproductive goals.

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