Enough women experience reproductive coercion – male behavior to control contraception and pregnancy outcomes – that a research team now recommends health care providers address the subjects with their patients and tailor family planning discussions and recommendations accordingly.
..."Reproductive coercion, co-occurring with intimate partner violence, is prevalent among women seeking general obstetrics and gynecology care," notes Rebecca H. Allen, MD, of Women & Infants [Hospital of Rhode Island]. She and Amy S. Gottlieb, MD, of the hospital's Women's Primary Care Center, participated in the study of 641 women ages 18 to 44, along with Chris Raker, ScD, a statistician in the hospital's Division of Research.
Study participants completed anonymous surveys. The survey defined reproductive coercion as:
- Pregnancy coercion, such as a male partner threatening to harm the woman physically or psychologically (with infidelity or abandonment) if she did not become pregnant
- Birth control sabotage, such as flushing oral contraceptive pills down the toilet, intentionally breaking or removing condoms, or inhibiting a woman's ability to obtain contraception
"This is a far too common problem in this country. A study of 9,000 women by the National Center for Injury Prevention and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated that at least 9% of adult females in the United States have experienced reproductive coercion," Dr. Gottlieb explains. "Such coercion could have tremendous impact on a woman's ability to plan pregnancies or control her own fertility."
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-02-reproductive-coercion-intimate-partner-violence.html
Abstract in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology -- Reproductive coercion and co-occurring intimate partner violence in obstetrics and gynecology patients
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