Why do you believe "unintended pregnancies" are on the rise among 20+ year olds?

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   dashingscorpioposted 9 years ago

   Why do you believe "unintended pregnancies" are on the rise among 20+ year olds?
   
   It's always been touted that more sexual education and better birth control methods would reduce unplanned pregnancies. Just recently Bristol Palin announced she is pregnant again from a man who will be a different "baby daddy" from Tripp's father. The most recent Guttmacher data found that (more than half of pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended), and the rate of unintended pregnancies in America has been steadily (increasing since 1994)! Teen pregnancies are at a (historic low)! What’s happening? Is it just too difficult to avoid "unintended pregnancies"?
   
   

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   win-winresourcesposted 9 years ago

   Dashing-
   
   "Unintended pregnancies"?  Surely you jest.  Unprotected sex will get you pregnant.  Unintended?  Maybe.  Stupid?  Absolutely.

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      dashingscorpioposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      The article I read called them "Unintended pregnancies".
      Having said that it's been reported there are no 100% fool proof birth control methods other than abstinence. However I suspect like you there's a lot of (unprotected sex) going on!

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      win-winresourcesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Indeed.  The best laid plans of mice and men often result in little mice and little men...

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      TheBizWhizposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      N the 80's & 90's we had the fear of AIDS. Maybe now that AIDS is not everywhere in the news, people are having unprotected sex more often.

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      dashingscorpioposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      BizWhiz, You have a point. Now that HIV and AIDS is not an automatic death sentence in the news media less and less people worry about it. The last big scare was with  Ebola last year. I bet spontaneous sex between cohabitating couples is high.

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   TheBizWhizposted 9 years ago

   I do think it is odd that teenage pregnancies are going down and unintended pregnancies for 20+ are going up.
   
   In general, I see that many women don't have a lot of self-respect, maybe because they are not taught how to have self-respect. Some might think that sexual liberation is "empowering", the reality is that they probably don't have a lot of confidence and need to feel wanted even if it is not for the right reasons. They end up trying to please some guy who is a jerk and could care less what happens to them after he is finished. To me, there is nothing sexier than a strong woman who knows what she wants in life and knows how to achieve things without having to resort to the horizontal tango.
   
   Btw, did they include married women in the study? While I don't know why they would include that in there, a married woman can still have an unintended pregnancy. Maybe there is something there. I know my wife and I had the best "accident" anyone could ever have! lol

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   1. 70

      dashingscorpioposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      The article didn't specify if it included married women. However since it does state: "more than half of pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended." I would guess that includes married women as well.
      Unintended has nothing to with marital status.

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      gmwilliamsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Biz Whiz, what an excellent answer indeed. If people have unprotected sex, they are acting immaturely and capriciously,not logically nor intellectually. Sex involves responsibility i.e. using preventives If one isn't ready, don't think of having sex.

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   Aime Fposted 9 years ago

   Perhaps just people having more sex in general? Since birth control has a certain failure rate (depending on the type), it makes sense that if people are having sex more often/with more people, unintended pregnancies could still be on the rise even if BC is being used regularly.

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5. 84

   gmwilliamsposted 9 years ago

   
   
   The SMART, INTELLIGENT women in their 20s won't get unintentionally pregnant.  They're responsible as far as their contraceptive choices go.  They realize that they must practice birth control if they intend to have sexual relations.  They have the cognizance and the maturity to know that if they've unprotected sex, they're going to get pregnant, pure and simple. 
   
   However, there are the LESS INTELLIGENT and LESS RESPONSIBLE women in their 20s who're simply not diligent regarding birth control practices.  They amble on or about, acting quite helter skelter regarding their  sexual responsibilities.  Maybe they inanely believe that "nice" girls do not plan for sex, it "just happens" and even believe that if they do practice contraception, they are planning for sex and are considered "bad" girls.  So they're in their deluded universe maintaining that if they have sex, they have fallen into it.   Sexual responsibility is an anathema to such women who see contraception as subconsciously wanting and planning for sex which makes them somehow "less respectable" . It's a remnant of the old double standard yet again.  Nice girls let sex happen while bad girls plan for sex.  Quaint, atavistic philosophy for the 21st century.

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      dashingscorpioposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      "Maybe they inanely believe that "nice" girls do not plan for sex." " Nice girls let sex happen while bad girls plan for sex."
      Grace, I believe there is a group of young women who do believe this! They may look down on women using the pill.

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   Ana Kolomekaposted 9 years ago

   This is news to me!
   My guess is that such women are sensitive to their biological clocks.  Fertility rates descend after age 35 for women.  In the 1980s, some women used to push marriage by talking about their biological clocks on dates (this is in regards to your 15 questions not to ask on a date hub).  LOL!  Even longer ago, some women got pregnant to trap a man;  believe it or not, this is still happening!
   Also, the tabloids and reality TV is full of stories of pregnancies out of wedlock, and outrageous stories surrounding them.  Perhaps these women believe this is the norm, and are doing this to generate interest in their relatively boring lives.
   I agree that lack of self-respect is a major factor.

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      dashingscorpioposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I imagine ignorance sometimes plays a part. Maybe they had unprotected sex a few times without becoming pregnant and "assumed" they couldn't get pregnant. Spontaneous sex is an issue. They weren't in a "relationship" saw no need for daily pills.

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      Ana Kolomekaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      My best friend from college was like that. She used condoms sporadically. Then she had a pregnancy scare. I thought she was infertile, but she went on to have 4 kids after marriage. Weird how that happens...

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      dashingscorpioposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, sometimes just being lucky or unlucky plays a large part. I imagine not many women want to take a daily pill if they're not in a relationship even though condoms have a higher fail rate. Some believe having the shot or IUD cause promiscuity.

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      gmwilliamsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Exactly, it goes back to the good/bad girl premise.  Good girls NEVER EVER plan for sex, ONLY BAD GIRLS do that.  Alas, the insanely inane scenario continues yet again.

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      dashingscorpioposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Very true! LOL!
      I suppose the same could be said of young men that go out on dates carrying condoms. Being "prepared" implies presumption. For some people it's even worse if the woman has a stash of condoms!

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7. 61

   Sparkleaposted 9 years ago

   Sex is intended for marriage.  Period.  That is my personal belief because it states in the Bible "Flee Fornication" (fornication is sex outside of marriage).
   This is not a judgmental statement but one to protect people from disease, unwanted pregnancies, the risk of having an abortion.  No to mention rape.  When a woman has sex with a man, EVERYTHING changes.  Things are NOT the same.  Unintended pregnancies would not be happening if people could abstain until marriage to a person he/she falls in love with.  In my opinion sex is not a sport, it is a sacred expression of unconditional love for the person...which should be a husband or a wife.  Sex has been abused, misused and cause irreparable emotional and physical damage to millions and millions of people on this planet.
   I have had sex with two men: my first and my second husband, on our wedding night. 
   Dr. Laura states that if a man insists on having sex on a date, he is a creep.  I agree.  Same for a woman.  This is the way that I feel, just my opinion only.

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      dashingscorpioposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Married couples have "unintended pregnancies" too!
      Bristol Palin launched an abstinence campaign. Dr. Laura is entitled to have a change of heart but she can't change her past. She had at least 2 affairs. http://www.nndb.com/people/427/000022361/

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      Sparkleaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      WOW, Thank you for that link!  I will forward to my sister as she WORSHIPS Dr. Laura!  I so appreciate your bringing that to my attention.

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      dashingscorpioposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      You're welcome! I guess it's true what they say:
      Every Sinner has a future and every Saint has a past!

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   Motherbynatureposted 9 years ago

   The wording is messing me up.  By unintended do they mean unplanned?  Unwanted?  If they mean unplanned then that number needs to be astronomically higher. 
   
   I know the pro-choice people are gonna love my answer.  I believe a portion of that number is due to the availability of abortion.  They love to use rape and incest are crutches for the campaign but I live in the real world.  In the real world since my college years I've had 6 different women ask me to accompany them to have an abortion.  I did not accompany a single one.  Each and every one had not used protection on several occasions.  They each viewed their abortions as a just a procedure to take care of the problem.  As humans, if you know there's an out, you're more likely to take the risk.  We're stupid like that.
   
   Another portion of this number is probably because of the high AF cost of birth control pills with and without insurance.  I used to pay $92 for one month of pills WITH insurance!  What are these 20-something women supposed to do?  At that age they are still trying to get established.  Some are in college.  Some can't let go of high school and are still in party mode.  Either way, $92 is $92.  Every time a new birth control comes out the insurance company dumps some old ones off the formulary.  The formulary is basically a list of all the drugs your insurance with cover.  It changes every year.  Drug companies pay big money for their new drugs to be heavily advertised.  They'll even self-sabotage their own medicines because they're outdated.  And the people who suffer are the ones who have been taking the old tried and true meds for years because they work.  Then they are forced to try the new ones or pay for the old ones out of pocket.  This happens the fastest with female contraception.  You can't even find a doctor who prescribes diaphragms anymore.

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      gmwilliamsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      There's such a thing as maturity and responsibility. If one is going to have sex, h/she should plan for preventives; if not, THEN DON'T HAVE SEX.  This is simple logic which doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand.

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      Motherbynatureposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      You have a very condescending and judgemental tone in everything post about women and families. I'd prefer not to interact with you at all.

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      gmwilliamsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I am the LEAST condescending/judgmental person.  I am in fact very liberal in outlook.  However, I strongly avouch that when people have sex, they should exercise responsibility or DON'T have sex at all. Sex isn't he be and end all to life.

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      dashingscorpioposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Motherbynature, "Unintended" means "unplanned" or not attempting to get pregnant. The whole notion of the concept of "planned parenthood" was people could actually plan when they wanted to have children via their use of birth control.

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   Old-Empresarioposted 9 years ago

   Men today in their 20s are less willing to get married than they were in the past. The women they date are getting pregnant to trap the man into marrying them. That's my hypothesis for the increase in pregnancies.
   
   I don't know Bristol Palin, but she enjoys the spotlight.

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      Motherbynatureposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I do know some women who have done this but do you think there are enough women doing this to cause the numbers to rise so high?

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      Old-Empresarioposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Hi MBN,
      I do. I know men in their 20s who actually have/had unprotected sex in order to force their hand into marriage b/c they couldn't make a decision. Men are more willing to marry the mother of their child than a girl who just wants marriage.

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    Evaneposted 9 years ago

    Because only a few men like to have kids.

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       dashingscorpioposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Are you saying these women are (intentionally) getting pregnant because only few men (want) to have kids?
       In other words these young women are lying about it being an "accident" or "unintended"?

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       Evaneposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Yes I think so. They might like to have kids that is why they chose to get pregnant. Most men don't like kids.

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       dashingscorpioposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       I'm not sure one can say (most men) don't like kids.
       They may not be interested in being demoted as a priority or may not want a "permanent connection" with that specific woman.
       Hopefully the days of attempting to "trap men" are passé.

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    iggy7117posted 9 years ago

    I would think with diseases like Hiv/aids and hepatitis that the unexpected pregnancy rate would have declined drastically. These kids and young adults are not protecting themselves and playing with their lives.

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    1. 70

       dashingscorpioposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       No matter what the risks are very few people believe something bad is going to happen to (them). Maybe it's human nature not to live in fear.
       However it's never smart to live in ignorance.

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