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0 pointslotsofpulp3y ago0 comments

The only US source for data I could find was from 2011:

https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/contraception/uninten...

> In 2008, women reported that more than half of all pregnancies (51%) were unintended. By 2011, the percentage of unintended pregnancies declined to 45%. That is an improvement, but some groups still tend to have higher rates of unintended pregnancy. For example, 75% of pregnancies were unintended among teens aged 15 to 19 years.

I imagine this has continued to trend downwards since 2011, especially amongst women who had the option of remote work (more educated, more lucrative careers, higher degree of financial freedom, less religious, etc).

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smeej3y ago

This depends a lot on the phrasing of the question, because there can be a big difference between "unplanned" and "undesired."

When people actively want not to have children, they tend to be fastidious about using their contraceptives as intended, but they're less careful when they are less opposed to the idea.

Even if someone gets pregnant earlier than they had actually "planned," many are quickly delighted after the first bout of surprise and the slight stress of moving up the related plans, though this is not always captured in surveys.

bombcar3y ago

Yeah, the questions have to be carefully designed to avoid questioner's bias, and to get at the root of what you're trying to determine.

There's a vast range from "we cannot have children at all" to "we are intentionally doing every single thing possible to conceive" and many people end up in the "eh if it happens it happens" middle somewhere.

lotsofpulpOP3y ago

Yes, but my point was that the set of 25 year old couples who ended up working from home and having sex more often because of it probably will not end up with a baby because they will not have forgone birth control.

Or a couple who has already had their desired amount of kids would not end up with more kids even though they are having more sex due to them using birth control.

Whereas a 30 to 35 year old couple who was already planning on babies in the next couple years would have opted out of birth control to take advantage of the increased time being spent at home.

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alocasia-13y ago

I doubt that downward trend has continued (bet it's at least slowed) for the general population, I can't imagine sex ed has gotten any better nationwide. But I don't have any newer sources at hand either.

lotsofpulpOP3y ago

The Affordable Care Act providing free birth control did not even kick in until 2011. Between that, increased access to healthcare and doctors in general due to ACA, and access to more information due to proliferation of internet and smartphones, I would guess more women opted into birth control over the past decade.

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smeej3y ago

This depends a lot on the phrasing of the question, because there can be a big difference between "unplanned" and "undesired."

When people actively want not to have children, they tend to be fastidious about using their contraceptives as intended, but they're less careful when they are less opposed to the idea.

bombcar3y ago

Yeah, the questions have to be carefully designed to avoid questioner's bias, and to get at the root of what you're trying to determine.

lotsofpulpOP3y ago

Or a couple who has already had their desired amount of kids would not end up with more kids even though they are having more sex due to them using birth control.

Whereas a 30 to 35 year old couple who was already planning on babies in the next couple years would have opted out of birth control to take advantage of the increased time being spent at home.

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alocasia-13y ago

lotsofpulpOP3y ago

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