Women who live with their partners are more likely to accidentally become pregnant than those who are single or married, a new study has found.
Researchers found most couples who live together said they intended to delay childbirth until they were married, steadily employed and financially stable.
Despite this, surprise pregnancies are very common, with figures showing they account for half of all conceptions in the UK and U.S.
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Women who live with their partners are more likely to accidentally become pregnant than single or married women, according to U.S. researchers. Working class women were most likely to have a surprise pregnancy
Researchers found accidental pregnancy was especially common among working class couples who struggled to access reliable contraceptives and often forgot to use them.
This was compared to middle-class couples where the women could access contraceptives more easily and tended to talk about contraception more openly with their partners.
The study was conducted in the U.S. where unlike the UK, contraceptives are not free and are generally included in health insurance plans.
Men in middle class relationships often helped ensure their partners used contraception, by reminding them about it, helping them set alarms, or by paying for prescriptions.
In the study, middle class couples were characterised as being university-educated and having a job that required a degree.
The study, carried out by social scientists from Cornell University and the University of Indianapolis involved 61 middle class and working class couples who lived together.
They were quizzed about their relationships and their use of contraception.
They study found that women in cohabiting couples were the most likely to become accidentally pregnant, with working class women more likely to have a surprise pregnancy than middle class women.
Working class women in the U.S. reported that job instability or unemployment left them without health insurance or health plans that covered contraceptives.
Lead author Professor Sharon Sassler, from Cornell University, said: 'Women who are on the same page as their partners regarding childbirth and who are able to communicate with partners are more efficacious contraceptors.
Middle class couples living together used contraceptives more effectively and talked about them more openly. Men helped their partners by reminding them about contraceptives and paying for prescriptions
'Since it is the middle-class women who are more likely to be in this position, they are therefore in greater control of their reproductive destiny than their working-class counterparts.'
She added that the research looked at the barriers facing working class women.
She said: 'Women mentioned the cost of going for a doctor's visit; paying for birth control pills, which insurance once had covered but no longer did; or not being able to afford the out-of-pocket expense on insurance plans with meagre coverage as barriers.'
She added that this was one of the only studies to include men's perspectives on family planning and contraceptive use.
She said: 'We find that men are often involved in ensuring contraception is regularly used – whether by reminding partners, helping them program their phone or helping to pay for a prescription that is too expensive.
'Social marketing programs can target male partners to participate in deferring pregnancy until couples are ready – relationally, emotionally and financially – to become parents.'
The study was published in the journal Family Relations.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2776402/Surprise-pregnancies-common-women-live-partners-aren-t-married.html#ixzz3EulqSqGP
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