TY - JOUR
T1 - Pregnancy Experiences of Female Sex Workers in Adama City, Ethiopia
T2 - Complexity of Partner Relationships and Pregnancy Intentions
AU - Yam, Eileen A.
AU - Kidanu, Aklilu
AU - Burnett-Zieman, Brady
AU - Pilgrim, Nanlesta
AU - Okal, Jerry
AU - Bekele, Assefa
AU - Gudeta, Daniel
AU - Caswell, Georgina
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands through a subcontract from the International HIV/AIDS Alliance under the Link Up project. We are grateful to the many local Miz-Hasab Research Center interviewers, translators, and transcribers who made this work possible in collaboration with colleagues at the Organization for Social Services, Health and Development (OSSHD). We especially thank the study participants for generosity with their time and for sharing their personal stories.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 The Population Council, Inc.
PY - 2017/6
Y1 - 2017/6
N2 - Research and programs for female sex workers (FSWs) tend to focus exclusively on HIV prevention, with little attention paid to how pregnancy affects their lives. We examine the circumstances surrounding pregnancy and childbirth among women selling sex in Ethiopia. In Adama City, researchers asked 30 FSWs aged 18 and older who had ever been pregnant to participate in in-depth interviews. The women reported on pregnancies experienced both before and after they had begun selling sex. They identified some of the fathers as clients, former partners, and current partners, but they did not know the identities of the other fathers. Missed injections, skipped pills, and inconsistent condom use were causes of unintended pregnancy. Abortion was common, typically with a medication regimen at a facility. Comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services should be provided to women who sell sex, in recognition and support of their need for family planning and their desire to plan whether and when to have children.
AB - Research and programs for female sex workers (FSWs) tend to focus exclusively on HIV prevention, with little attention paid to how pregnancy affects their lives. We examine the circumstances surrounding pregnancy and childbirth among women selling sex in Ethiopia. In Adama City, researchers asked 30 FSWs aged 18 and older who had ever been pregnant to participate in in-depth interviews. The women reported on pregnancies experienced both before and after they had begun selling sex. They identified some of the fathers as clients, former partners, and current partners, but they did not know the identities of the other fathers. Missed injections, skipped pills, and inconsistent condom use were causes of unintended pregnancy. Abortion was common, typically with a medication regimen at a facility. Comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services should be provided to women who sell sex, in recognition and support of their need for family planning and their desire to plan whether and when to have children.
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U2 - 10.1111/sifp.12019
DO - 10.1111/sifp.12019
M3 - Article
C2 - 28263396
AN - SCOPUS:85014549323
SN - 0039-3665
VL - 48
SP - 107
EP - 119
JO - Studies in family planning
JF - Studies in family planning
IS - 2
ER -