Ebook: Queering Pregnancy: Understanding the Role of Queer Identity in Pregnancy Desires and Decisions

Queer women and gender-expansive individuals assigned female at birth face barriers to achieving their reproductive health and family formation goals. Paradoxically, current literature in this area suggests that while queer individuals face higher rates of unwanted, unintended, or mistimed pregnancies, there are also significant barriers to achieving wanted pregnancies. Informed by principals of reproductive justice, this dissertation study aims to understand collective barriers to family formation, viewing both barriers to wanted pregnancies and barriers to avoiding pregnancy as stemming from similar root causes. This dissertation uses a modified grounded theory approach to examine how queer women and gender-expansive individuals relate and respond to pregnancy, including the role of sexual identity in shaping their experiences. This dissertation is comprised of three papers. The first paper outlines how queer women and gender-expansive individuals consider pregnancy and family planning in the context of their lives and identities and outlines the most salient factors in informing pregnancy desires. The second paper discusses the experiences of queer women and gender-expansive individuals seeking abortion, and the unique ways that queer identity shaped abortion experiences and attitudes. The third paper documents experiences in the healthcare system and the strategies that individuals use to meet their health needs despite barriers to queer-inclusive care. Collectively, these papers discuss the range of pregnancy experiences, the context in which queer individuals are making family formation and pregnancy decisions, as well as the significant influences on pregnancy desires and experiences for queer individuals. Findings from this dissertation have several implications for family planning and social work research and practice, as well as policy implications. Supporting queer individuals in a range of reproductive health and parenting options is vital to full recognition of queer individuals' bodily autonomy, affirming reproductive justice, and supporting participation in a fundamental human experience-family building.