Public reproductive health and ‘unintended’ pregnancies introducing the construct ‘supportability’

• Published in: Journal of public health (Oxford, England) Vol. 38; no. 3; pp. e384 - e391
• Main Author: Macleod, Catriona Ida
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Oxford University Press 01-09-2016
• Subjects: Contraception Behavior - psychology; Emotions; Family Planning Services; Female; Humans; METHODS (ONLINE ONLY); Models, Theoretical; Pregnancy; Pregnancy, Unplanned - psychology; Psychology; Public Health - methods; Reproductive Health; Risk Factors; unintended pregnancy; unplanned pregnancy; public reproductive health; unwanted pregnancy; mistimed pregnancy
• ISSN: 1741-3842; 1741-3850
• DOI: 10.1093/pubmed/fdv123

In this Perspectives paper, I outline the limitations of the concept of ‘intentionality’ in public reproductive health understandings of pregnancy. ‘Intentionality’, ‘plannedness’, ‘wantedness’ and ‘timing’ place individual cognitions, psychology and/or behaviors at the center of public health conceptualizations of pregnancies, thereby leaving the underlying social and structural dynamics under-examined. I propose a model that places ‘supportability’ at the center of thinking about pregnancies and that allows for an analysis of the intersection of individual cognitions, emotions and behavior with micro-level interactive spaces and macro-level issues.