Results of the 1999 Survey of Pregnancy and Single Parenthood in the Navy

摘要

The 1999 Navy Survey of Pregnancy and Parenthood, the fifth in a series, consisted of core items from prior versions and new items to investigate current Navy management concerns. A disproportionate random sampling technique was used for a mail sample and additional surveys were group administered at four sites. Overall, Navy women had lower annual pregnancy rates than their civilian counterparts, except for women 35 and older. Women on shore duty had higher pregnancy rates than women on sea duty. The number of adverse pregnancy outcomes was very low and there were no significant differences in the percentage of adverse outcomes for women based on sea duty, as was the case in 1997. More enlisted men were single parents in 1999 than in 1997. No improvement in compliance with the requirement for paternity counseling has been found since 1997. There has been little improvement in male officers' compliance with the requirement to complete a Family Care Certificate. Almost 80 percent of the pregnancies of officers, but only 40 percent of the pregnancies of enlisted women were planned. Slightly over half of the enlisted women who had an unplanned pregnancy had engaged in unprotected sex. The major recommendations were to emphasize the importance of the Family Care Certificate, especially to male officers; attempt to reduce unplanned pregnancies by improving birth control education for men and women and expanding family planning efforts; emphasize the importance of command support in helping single pregnant women obtain paternal financial support; and explore the reasons women and men feel uncomfortable discussing birth control information with available medical personnel.