Contraceptive Consistency and Poverty after Birth

Abstract

Unplanned pregnancies in the U.S. disproportionately occur among poor, less educated, and minority women, but it is unclear whether poverty following a birth is itself an outcome of this pregnancy planning status. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (n=2,101) and National Survey of Family Growth (n=778), we constructed two-year sequences of contraceptive use before a birth that signal an unplanned versus a planned birth. We regressed poverty in the year of the birth both on this contraceptive-sequence variable and on sociodemographic indicators including previous employment and poverty status in the year before the birth, race/ethnicity, education, partnership status, birth order, and family background. Compared to sequences indicating a planned birth, sequences of inconsistent use and non-use of contraception were associated with a higher likelihood of poverty following a birth, both before and after controlling for sociodemographic variables, and before and after additionally controlling for poverty status before the birth. In pooled-survey estimates with all controls included, having not used contraception consistently is associated with a 42% higher odds of poverty after birth. The positive association of poverty after birth with contraceptive inconsistency or non-use, however, is limited to women with low to medium educational attainment. These findings encourage further exploration into relationships between contraceptive access and behavior and subsequent adverse outcomes for the mother and her children.

Keywords: Contraceptive Consistency; Education; Fertility; Newborn Poverty; Pregnancy Intentions.

FIGURE 1:. Distribution of Contraceptive Use Sequence by Education, Women aged 17-31 in 1999-2011 giving birth

Notes: Results are weighted Source: NLSY97 (n=2101) and NSFG 2002, 2006-2010 (n=778)

FIGURE 2:. Average predicted probability of women in poverty after a birth for Never and Ever consistent contraceptive users by education, ages 17-31 1999-2011

Notes: Estimates are weighted and confidence intervals represented by bars. *= The difference between Never and Ever consistent is significant at p<0.05 Predicted probabilities calculated within education level and controlling for: marital status, race, age, mothers education, and birth order Source: NLSY 1997 (n=2101) and NSFG 2002, 2006-2010 (n=778)