Teenage Pregnancy and Choice: Abortion or Motherhood: Influences on the Decision

by Sharon Tabberer, Christine Hall, Andrew Webster

The Government has placed teenage pregnancy at the top of its agenda, and while most attention is focused on preventingpregnancy, few studies have asked why, once a pregnancy hasbeen conceived, a young woman may choose to continue with it or to terminate it. The research reported here focuses in particular on the intermediate period of decision making, when the teenager has to decide whether to continue with or terminate her pregnancy. It was found that most young women chose to continue with or end their pregnancy over a key period of time, during which various routes and their implications are explored, oftenin difficult and confusing circumstances. This points to the need to refocus the potential time for the intervention and management of teenage pregnancy into the early post-conception period. This research shows how pregnancy is captured and integrated into family life. Contrary to some views, it suggests that teenage pregnancy might not represent a move away from the family into 'adulthood' but a re-integration within it.

64 pages, Paperback

First published November 13, 2000