Department of Sociology & Criminal Justice, University of Delaware, Smith Hall 325, Newark, DE, 19716, USA.
Center for Community Research and Service, University of Delaware, 297 Graham Hall, Newark, DE, 19716, USA.
Matern Child Health J. 2020 Mar;24(3):291-298. doi: 10.1007/s10995-019-02859-5.
Unintended pregnancy is an individual and public health problem with significant social and economic consequences. The literature has established that parents, especially mothers, play an important role in shaping the contraceptive attitudes and behaviors of young women and could therefore affect the likelihood of their daughter experiencing an unintended pregnancy. However, research has yet to fully explore the nuances of how mothers influence their daughters with respect to contraception.
We conducted a mixed methods study to explore the impact of mothers on women's contraceptive attitudes and behaviors. In-depth interviews were conducted with 86 women of reproductive age to identify potential patterns and explore the nature of mothers' influences. We then analyzed medical and prescription claims for a cohort of 9813 pairs of women (mother-daughter proxies) enrolled in Medicaid, to determine if such patterns of contraceptive use held in a larger sample.
In-depth interviews reveal how and why mothers shape women's contraceptive attitudes and behaviors, particularly highlighting the nuances of communication, knowledge, and relationships. The statistical claims data supported such findings on a broader scale. For instance, across several types of contraceptives, including oral, injectable, and long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), young women were significantly more likely to use a particular method if an older woman in the household (mother proxy) also used that method (AOR (95% CI) 1.99 (1.67-2.37), 2.06 (1.58-2.68) and 2.83 (1.64-4.88) respectively).
This study fills a gap in the literature regarding the nuanced ways in which mothers influence women's contraceptive behavior. In turn, it supports the importance of familial context-especially the influence of mothers-in contraception decision-making and suggests that interventions aimed at improving access to and uptake of effective methods of contraception consider this context in their design and implementation.
意外怀孕是一个个人和公共卫生问题，具有重大的社会和经济后果。文献已经证实，父母，尤其是母亲，在塑造年轻女性的避孕态度和行为方面起着重要作用，因此可能会影响其女儿意外怀孕的可能性。然而，研究尚未充分探索母亲影响女儿避孕的细微差别。
我们进行了一项混合方法研究，以探讨母亲对女性避孕态度和行为的影响。对 86 名育龄妇女进行了深入访谈，以确定潜在模式并探讨母亲影响的性质。然后，我们分析了参加医疗补助计划的 9813 对女性（母女代理）的医疗和处方索赔数据，以确定这种避孕模式在更大的样本中是否存在。
深入访谈揭示了母亲如何以及为何塑造女性的避孕态度和行为，特别是强调了沟通、知识和关系的细微差别。统计索赔数据在更大的范围内支持了这些发现。例如，在几种类型的避孕方法中，包括口服、注射和长效可逆避孕方法（LARCs），如果家中的老年女性（母亲代理）也使用该方法，年轻女性使用特定方法的可能性显著增加（AOR（95%CI）分别为 1.99（1.67-2.37）、2.06（1.58-2.68）和 2.83（1.64-4.88））。
本研究填补了文献中关于母亲影响女性避孕行为的细微方式的空白。反过来，它支持了家庭背景的重要性-特别是母亲的影响-在避孕决策中的重要性，并表明旨在改善获得和采用有效避孕方法的干预措施在其设计和实施中应考虑到这一背景。
