#unintended pregnancies

[coochiequeens]

Birth control is health care

Nearly half of all pregnancies, totalling 121 million each year worldwide, are unintended, according to a new report published on Wednesday by the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA.

“This report is a wakeup call”, said UNFPA Executive Director Natalia Kanem, adding that the “staggering number of unintended pregnancies represents a global failure to uphold women and girls’ basic human rights.”

The ground-breaking Seeing the Unseen: The case for action in the neglected crisis of unintended pregnancy, warns that this human rights crisis has “profound consequences for societies, women and girls and global health”.

‘No choice at all’

Over 60 per cent of unintended pregnancies end in abortion and an estimated 45 per cent of all abortions are unsafe, accounting for five to 13 per cent of all maternal deaths recorded, according to the UNFPA’s flagship State of World Population 2022 report.

This is also having a major impact on the planet’s ability to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the 2030 target date.

Moreover, the war in Ukraine and other conflicts and crises, are expected to drive an increase in unintended pregnancies, as access to contraception is disrupted and sexual violence increases.

”For the women affected, the most life-altering reproductive choice – whether or not to become pregnant – is no choice at all,” said the UNFPA chief.

Pushed into pregnancy

The report outlined that gender inequality and stalled development, drive high rates of unintended pregnancies.

For example, an estimated 257 million women around the world who want to avoid pregnancy are not using safe, modern methods of contraception.

And where data is available, nearly a quarter of all women, feel unable to say no to demands for sex.

A range of factors also contribute to unintended pregnancies, including a lack of sexual and reproductive healthcare; contraceptive that does not suit women's circumstances; harmful norms surrounding women controlling their own bodies; sexual violence and reproductive coercion; and shaming in health services.

These all reflect the pressure that societies place on women and girls to become mothers.

Pregnancies surge during crises

Crisis and conflict rob women of their agency at all levels, drastically increasing the risk of unintended pregnancy.

Women often lose access to contraceptives and sexual violence increases, according to the report, which cites studies showing that over 20 per cent of refugee women and girls will face sexual violence.

“If you had 15 minutes to leave your house, what would you take? Would you grab your passport? Food? Would you remember your contraception?” asked Dr. Kanem.

After a crisis starts, sexual and reproductive health and protection services save lives – UNFPA chief

“In the days, weeks and months after a crisis starts, sexual and reproductive health and protection services save lives, shield women and girls from harm and prevent unintended pregnancies. They are as vital as food, water and shelter.”

Take action

The report shows how easily the most fundamental rights of women and girls are pushed to the backburner in both times of peace and during war.

It calls on decision-makers and those in charge of health systems to help prevent unintended pregnancies by improving accessibility, acceptability and contraception choices - while also urging policy makers and community leaders to empower women and girls to make affirmative decisions about sex, contraception and motherhood.

If this is done, women and girls will be able to contribute fully to society with the tools, information and power to decide for themselves whether or not to have children.

“By putting the power to make this most fundamental decision squarely in the hands of women and girls, societies can ensure that motherhood is an aspiration and not an inevitability,” concluded the UNFPA chief.

Ukraine effect

The war in Ukraine is also likely to drive an increase in unintended pregnancy, said UNFPA's Monica Ferro, briefing journalists in Geneva on Wednesday.

“We are foreseeing that 265,000 women are pregnant in Ukraine and in the next three months 80,000 will give birth. So, if there is no health facility for them to give birth, to have a skilled attendant’s birth - or if they don’t have access to healthcare - this is going to increase as we know maternal mortality, and morbidity.”.

Earlier this month, a maternity hospital was targeted by shelling in the stricken coastal city of Mariupol.

As part of the UN’s response, UNFPA has shipped essential medicines and life-saving sexual and reproductive health services and supplies to Ukraine.

[nepobabyjimkirk]

The amount of secret/unknown children in Star Trek like okay so you’re saying birth control always gonna suck then? Awesome.

[partialbirthabortion]

do most of the women in your clinic come in knowing they're 100% set on abortion? do they know pretty quickly into their pregnancy that they want one? i ask bc i learned that the medication abortion is best used before 9-10wks and given that "4 weeks pregnant" is right when you miss your period that seems super quick to decide but i have never been pregnant so i wouldn't know.

I'm actually an assistant to surgical abortion, which in my clinic is up to 22 weeks, so honestly whether women are sure when they visit my clinic doesn't really have any bearing on your question! It's pretty typical for us to send one or two people home each day for not being sure of their decision.

[elainemorisi]

1:1 correlation ‘fanon picked up by osmosis’ to ‘extremely plausible reading’ of that scene, lordie

[losingitinjersey]

While my house has been decorated for the last 15 days I finally got around to posting pictures of it!  Although, I did just get my tree decorated on Saturday so that feels nice to have it all done.  Yesterday I set up some timers for both the mantel garland and the tree so when I wake up and come home from work the house is already happily lit :)  

Saturday was a blur of productivity followed by my going way outside of my comfort zone and attending a party where I, obviously, couldn’t drink to curb my social anxiety.  The party didn’t start until 7:30 p.m. (SO LATE for this old pregnant gal), and the parking garage closest to her condo was full so I had to park at one three blocks further away.  No biggie.  I go to the party and end up having a really great time even though I didn’t know anyone.  Going in, I told myself I’d leave by 9 p.m. but my phone was in my purse and my purse was in the corner so by the time I asked someone what time it was it was already 10:30 p.m.  !!  I excuse myself to leave, walk out with some new friends and end up walking along with them to their car before turning around and walking back towards the parking garage.  I’m taking a different route due to leaving with others but am sure I know where I’m going even though Google Maps is telling me otherwise.  I end up walking an extra 15 minutes longer than I should have due to my directionally challenged self and finally find the parking garage.  

By this point, my feet are killing me, I should have peed before I left and I’m ready to sit down now.  I finally find the parking garage and there’s these drunk 50 year olds in the garage telling me I can’t take the elevator because it’s stuck.  I take a big breath before marching towards the stairs and they’re kind of mocking me? Until one of the women yells at the other three that “guys, she has a baby!”  then one of the guys tells me to hop on his back as I smile politely and make my way up the four flights of stairs.  I then walk around to where my car should be and my car is not where I thought it was.  UGH.  I end up walking around level three, four and five and finally find my car.  Needless to say, I was exhausted and sore Sunday and ended up taking a nap and resting most of the day.  

On Monday I had my 36 week appointment and they ended up taking my blood pressure three times because it was slightly higher than normal.  I have to go back on Wednesday to have it checked again and collect my urine for 24 hours on Sunday before coming back to the clinic again on Monday (oh joy).  Hopefully my bp is better tomorrow but we’ll see!  I’m glad they’re taking precautions but I’m also trying not to worry.  Both Kevin and my mom don’t seem concerned, so that’s helping.  

Thankfully, we did an ultrasound and Erp is looking great!  She’s measuring in the 33rd percentile for size and she’s roughly 6lbs right now.  They said she’s measuring exactly on track for 36 weeks and everything is looking normal.  We also got some updated pictures of her and it’s crazy to get to see kind of what she looks like?!?!  

Slowly making my way through this work week and putting my swollen feet up when I can.  I’m now wearing compression socks almost 24/7 and I also started taking Unisom this week to help me get some better sleep.  

I’m excited to be staying home for Christmas this year and having an intimate holiday at home with my husband and cat.  First time ever we’re celebrating just the two of us and not traveling.  While I’ll miss seeing family and friends I’m really looking forward to a slow, happy, special day together.  

[pro-birth]

I was making a post on free fertility awareness resources and that’s how I found out that Marquette no longer has it’s free PDF to learn how the method works >:(

[cathnews]

Nearly Half Of All Pregnancies Are Unintended—a Global Crisis, Says New UNFPA Report

Nearly Half Of All Pregnancies Are Unintended—a Global Crisis, Says New UNFPA Report

Nearly half of all pregnancies, totalling 121 million each year throughout the world, are unintended. For the women and girls affected, the most life-altering reproductive choice—whether or not to become pregnant—is no choice at all, explains the State of World Population 2022 report, released today by UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. The groundbreaking report,…

[bharatlivenewsmedia]

State of World Population Report: A case for action in the neglected crisis of unintended pregnancy

State of World Population Report: A case for action in the neglected crisis of unintended pregnancy

State of World Population Report: A case for action in the neglected crisis of unintended pregnancy New Delhi, Mar 31: The State of World Population (SoWP) is an annual report published by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the sexual and reproductive health agency of the United Nations. Each edition covers and analyses developments and New Delhi, Mar 31: The State of World Population…

[reportwire]

Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2018

Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2018

Altmetric: Citations: Views: Views equals page views plus PDF downloads Abstract Problem/Condition: CDC conducts abortion surveillance to document the number and characteristics of women obtaining legal induced abortions and number of abortion-related deaths in the United States. Period Covered: 2018. Description of System: Each year, CDC requests abortion data from the central health agencies…

[truth-for-lies]

My arm is feeling a little bruised but I can't tell if it's from the implant itself or the site of insertion

Either way I lowkey love feeling it under the skin. It's such a weird sensation like you can't see it but you can feel it

I get the same feel of the impact as I do from feeling when my veins are close to the surface of my skin

[nepobabyjimkirk]

Wait Kirk has a secret son????? Does NOBODY in Star Trek use birth control??? This is the second thing I’ve watched TODAY where someone has a secret child I

[spilledwoords]

A Passage for Nnenne

A Passage for Nnenne

2 What is pleasurable for a man may not always be good for his sanity. It all started innocently about two years ago after Arinze woke up starring at this dark lady whose face held more charm than Genevieve. Not recognizing his immediate environment, he shuddered in fright; She is a mirage – I must be dreaming.“You’re OK, sir. You’re awake now!” he heard a suave voice spill from her – a nurse,…

[iirulancorrino]

Before 1970, almost no women went into careers requiring a postgraduate education. All that changed, however, precisely at the time in our nation's history when the pill become legally available to single women (the late 1960s and early '70s). As soon as women felt in control of their fertility—and knew they wouldn't get benched mid-education because of pregnancy—their applications to postgraduate degree programs skyrocketed. Although the surge of women in these fields was also helped by decreasing sexism in the admissions process, the biggest driver of these effects was actually the huge surge in the number of female applicants. When it is possible for women, they do.

Sarah Hill, This is Your Brain on Birth Control: The Surprising Science of Women, Hormones, and the Law of Unintended Consequences

[foxy-eva]

Offering Options

Summary: When Spencer finds out about his girlfriend’s pregnancy, he makes sure she knows he will stay by her side no matter which choice she makes 

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Category: Comfort

Content Warnings: (16+) unintended pregnancy, discussions about terminating a pregnancy, medication (abortion pills), crying, mentions of nausea and periods, open ending

Author’s Note: Special thanks to my friend @imagining-in-the-margins for helping me with this story!

Word count: 1.6k

Masterlist

Waiting for two minutes sounded like a very doable thing in most parts of life. I would just have to be patient for 120 seconds until I had certainty. Only now those two minutes both went by way too quickly while feeling like an eternity at the same time. I thought the not-knowing was bothering me most but now that the time has passed I wished I could hold onto that feeling for a little while longer. 

The ringing of the timer on my phone shocked both Spencer and me, having us stare at each other in concern. I looked over at the little white stick lying on the edge of my sink while I contemplated throwing it away before taking a look. It was a silly thought, I knew that, but right now I really didn’t want to face all the consequences the appearance of a second line would bring with it. 

“We should take a look,” Spencer said as he reached for the pregnancy test. 

I stopped with my hand around his, his facial feature softening when he noticed the tears falling from my lashes. 

“Maybe we should wait a little bit longer. Who knows, maybe my period will start soon.”

He audibly sighed as he wrapped his arms around my body to hold me tightly inside his embrace. It was this moment when I couldn’t hold back any longer, tremors wrecking through my body as I sobbed into his shirt with my face buried into his chest. When I felt my knees giving up on me, Spencer held me upright for a moment before he gently guided me to the floor, sitting down on the bathroom rug with me still crying inside his arms. 

“It’s going to be okay. We’ll figure it out,” he whispered in an attempt to soothe me. 

After a few moments I was able to calm down and pulled back slightly to look at him. Yesterday I thought about taking the pregnancy test without him but I was glad to have him with me now. This situation concerned him just as much as me so it would have felt wrong to not have him here.

When I told him earlier that my period was three weeks late and that I wanted to take a test he was nothing but kind and understanding. He understood that I was upset and kept telling me that we would figure it out together. Only problem was that I haven’t had the courage to tell him how I really felt about possibly being pregnant. 

His palm met my cheek to tenderly wipe away some stray droplets still running down my face. I could tell that he was nervous about this situation himself but he tried his best to be strong for me. I appreciated that more than he could possibly know. 

“Thank you for being here,” I muttered. 

He smiled at me as he took my hands in his. “Of course. Where else would I be?”

“I think I’m ready now.” I let him know. 

Spencer reached up to the sink to get the pregnancy test, taking a look at it before he showed it to me. I studied his face for a clue about what he was thinking before I dared to take a glimpse at the little stick myself. He didn’t seem to show a particular reaction, almost as if he wanted to wait to see mine first. 

My eyes fell down to the two red lines clearly visible on the test. It felt like an eternity until my brain caught up with what this result meant. Loose words were echoing in my head before I could react to them: Two lines… Positive... 

“I’m pregnant.” 

I looked at Spencer in disbelief, wondering if he knew any statistics about false-positive pregnancy tests and what the odds were that this was one of them. His eyebrows were furrowed, a small crease visible above his nose. He wanted to wrap his arms around me but I flinched away from his touch and got up from the floor. 

Walking over to the living room, I ran my hands through my hair, trying to think clearly. Spencer followed me, halting in the doorframe, clearly overwhelmed by this situation himself. 

“Fuck, Spencer! How could this even happen? We always used protection!” I snarled at him. 

I didn’t mean for that to come out as harsh as it did. This wasn’t his fault, I knew that. Still, I felt like my chest was boiling with anger and I had to let it out somehow. 

“Even if perfectly used, condoms still have a 2% failure rate according to the pearl-index.” He paused and looked at me as I sat down on the couch and buried my face in my hands. “But I don’t think you were actually wondering about that.”

I turned my head to look at him. With a shaky voice I said, “No, I wasn’t… What are we going to do?”

He sat beside me and repeated what he had already said several times this evening. “We’ll figure it out.”

“I don’t even know what that means!” 

Spencer audibly exhaled and closed his eyes for a second before he looked at me again, explaining, “It means that I will be by your side every step of the way, whi –”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence, all my thoughts and worries suddenly bubbling out of me at once. “I’m not sure I’m ready to be a mother. I know you’ll probably say that I will figure this out too but the timing is really off. I don’t even have my degree yet and only work part-time and you know I have been ambiguous about having children in the first place!” 

For the second time this evening saline droplets started to wet my cheeks. Spencer gently wiped them away with his thumbs before cupping my cheeks with his hands. He placed a chaste kiss on my lips and looked at me with the utmost adoration in his eyes. 

“What I was trying to say is that I will be by your side every step of the way, whichever way you decide to take.”

Once I grasped what he was telling me it felt like my mind was racing at a hundred miles an hour. I had assumed Spencer would want to have this child and it would shatter his heart if I didn’t. I thought that there was no need to make a choice because not having this baby wasn’t even an option. 

I couldn’t hide the skepticism in my voice when I asked, “I thought you wanted to have kids?” 

“I don’t want to have a child with you unless your whole heart is in it. You showed me what it feels like to be loved and I have never been as happy in my life. If we ever decide we want to have children, that’s great. If that doesn’t happen, that’s alright too because with you I already have all the family I need.”

When I started crying this time, it wasn’t out of shock or despair. It was relief washing over me as I realized that having this child wasn’t my only option. Falling limp into Spencer’s arms, he was there to catch me and hold me while I cried. He made me feel safe and loved even though what was going on right now was far from perfect. 

When he pulled a blanket over our bodies I slowly let my exhaustion take over as I started to doze off. I felt him place a kiss on the top of my head while I listened to the steady thumping of his heart with my ear resting against his chest. There was still time to figure this out tomorrow.

When I woke up the next day, Spencer was sitting on the couch beside me with a cup of coffee. What once was a scent I really loved, now made me nauseous more than anything. I held my hand against my stomach as I got up from the couch to open a window and get in some fresh air. 

“You okay?” Spencer asked while he looked at me wide-eyed. 

“Yeah I just really can’t stand the smell of coffee right now.”

He shot up from his spot and ran over to the kitchen, emptying his cup into the sink. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware.” 

“It’s okay. It only started a few days ago.” I told him and added, “I can’t wait for this pregnancy to be over.” 

With raised eyebrows he looked at me, wondering, “So… you’ve made your decision?” 

“I’m not sure yet. But I think I want to go to the doctor to discuss everything.”

He stepped closer to me and took my hand in his as he asked, “Do you want me to come with you?” 

“You don’t have to… but yes, that would be really helpful.” 

He nodded and pulled me into a hug. “I told you, I’m here every step of the way.”

Hours later I was sitting on the couch with pills that would end this pregnancy in my hand, inspecting them and contemplating whether to take them or not. Spencer was still here, holding onto the promise he made earlier. As he stared at me, waiting for my next move, I felt my heart skip a beat at the realization that he truly loved me no matter what. 

I put the pills back into the bottle and placed it on the coffee table. I took his hand in mine and squeezed it gently. “I think I want to sleep over it another night.”

“I’m ready when you are. Whatever you decide,” he reassured me. 

Maybe I would be ready in the morning or maybe I wouldn’t. He gave me the freedom of a choice and that’s what made all the difference to me. 

Let me know what you think here!

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[arathergrimreaper]

People really look at me like I'm kidding when I say I refuse to bring children into this world and believe it irresponsible for anyone to do so actually and my ass gotta be like "bruh, turn on the damn news".