29 Jan Teenage Daughters More Likely To Have Abortion If Their Mother Had One
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Ning Liu PhD Student
Senior Research Analyst at ICES
Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation
Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences
University of Toronto
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Previous studies suggested intergenerational tendencies between a mother and her daughter in fertility patterns, such as when they give birth to a child for the first time, or the total number of children they have during their lifetime.
We explored whether there is also an intergenerational tendency for induced abortion practices between a mother and her teen daughter.
To do so, we used anonymized records of 431,623 daughters and their mothers, and found that a teenage daughter was twice as likely to have an induced abortion if her mother had had an induced abortion.
MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?
Response: Teenage daughters are more likely to have an abortion if their mother has had one. This intergenerational tendency for induced abortion persist across different demographic groups, such as income or ethnicity. Thus, pregnancy planning and use of abortion services may be something that continues across generations of women. This point should be considered in how we maximally advocate for the reproductive health of teenage women.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work?
Response: Future research should consider more in-depth exploration of the factors that contribute not only to teen pregnancy, but also to the decision to have an abortion or to maintain a pregnancy.
MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Response: Findings from this study can be used to facilitate interventions aimed at maximizing the well-being of young women, including access to quality reproductive health information within the family, peer and in-school environment. Reproductive health information should include specifics about the consensual rights of a young woman to plan a pregnancy, and to access contraception.
Citations:
Intergenerational abortion tendency between mothers and teenage daughters: a population-based cohort study
http://www.cmaj.ca/content/190/4/E95
The information on MedicalResearch.com is provided for educational purposes only, and is in no way intended to diagnose, cure, or treat any medical or other condition. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health and ask your doctor any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. In addition to all other limitations and disclaimers in this agreement, service provider and its third party providers disclaim any liability or loss in connection with the content provided on this website.
Last Updated on January 29, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD