Pregnancy intentions of young women in Canada in the era of climate change: a qualitative auto-photography study
Abstract Background Climate change poses a global health risk through consequences such as sea level rise, wildfires, and increased air pollution. Children born today and in the future may be disproportionately affected by climate change. As a result, many young adults are rethinking having children...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2023-04-01
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| Series: | BMC Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15674-z |
| _version_ | 1797836199468990464 |
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| author | Danielle M. Smith Javier Sales Aleyah Williams Sarah Munro |
| author_facet | Danielle M. Smith Javier Sales Aleyah Williams Sarah Munro |
| author_sort | Danielle M. Smith |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Climate change poses a global health risk through consequences such as sea level rise, wildfires, and increased air pollution. Children born today and in the future may be disproportionately affected by climate change. As a result, many young adults are rethinking having children. The impacts of the climate crisis on the decision-making of parents is an understudied area of research. This study aims to be one of the first to explore how climate change impacts the pregnancy intentions of young women in Canada and their perspectives towards childbearing. Methods We conducted auto-photography and qualitative interviews. Participants were recruited using social media, and were aged 18–25, nulliparous, assigned female at birth, and were either current or previous residents of British Columbia, Canada. We asked participants to take photos that responded to the question, “Show us how climate change impacts your decision to have a family,” then complete a virtual, one-on-one interview during which photo-elicitation was employed to guide conversation about participants’ decision-making related to childbearing and climate change. We subjected all transcribed interviews to qualitative thematic analysis. Results We conducted in-depth interviews with seven participants who discussed a total of 33 photographs. Analysis of participants’ interviews and photographs identified themes of eco-anxiety, hesitancy towards having children, sense of loss, and a desire for systemic change. Participants experienced anxiety, grief, and loss when faced with thoughts of change associated with their environments. Climate change impacted all but two participants’ childbearing decision making, which was found to be interrelated with social-environmental factors, such as cost of living. Conclusion We aimed to identify the ways in which climate change may impact youth decisions to have a family. Further research on this topic is needed to understand the prevalence of this phenomenon, and to build such considerations into climate action policy and family planning tools used among young people. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T15:04:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-20912282177140739f5bb77b035df7ec |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T15:04:50Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-20912282177140739f5bb77b035df7ec2023-04-30T11:30:29ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582023-04-0123111310.1186/s12889-023-15674-zPregnancy intentions of young women in Canada in the era of climate change: a qualitative auto-photography studyDanielle M. Smith0Javier Sales1Aleyah Williams2Sarah Munro3Department of Family Practice, Faculty of Medicine, University of British ColumbiaDepartment of Family Practice, Faculty of Medicine, University of British ColumbiaDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of British ColumbiaCentre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences, Providence Health Care Research InstituteAbstract Background Climate change poses a global health risk through consequences such as sea level rise, wildfires, and increased air pollution. Children born today and in the future may be disproportionately affected by climate change. As a result, many young adults are rethinking having children. The impacts of the climate crisis on the decision-making of parents is an understudied area of research. This study aims to be one of the first to explore how climate change impacts the pregnancy intentions of young women in Canada and their perspectives towards childbearing. Methods We conducted auto-photography and qualitative interviews. Participants were recruited using social media, and were aged 18–25, nulliparous, assigned female at birth, and were either current or previous residents of British Columbia, Canada. We asked participants to take photos that responded to the question, “Show us how climate change impacts your decision to have a family,” then complete a virtual, one-on-one interview during which photo-elicitation was employed to guide conversation about participants’ decision-making related to childbearing and climate change. We subjected all transcribed interviews to qualitative thematic analysis. Results We conducted in-depth interviews with seven participants who discussed a total of 33 photographs. Analysis of participants’ interviews and photographs identified themes of eco-anxiety, hesitancy towards having children, sense of loss, and a desire for systemic change. Participants experienced anxiety, grief, and loss when faced with thoughts of change associated with their environments. Climate change impacted all but two participants’ childbearing decision making, which was found to be interrelated with social-environmental factors, such as cost of living. Conclusion We aimed to identify the ways in which climate change may impact youth decisions to have a family. Further research on this topic is needed to understand the prevalence of this phenomenon, and to build such considerations into climate action policy and family planning tools used among young people.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15674-zClimate ChangeFamily PlanningEco-AnxietyWomen’s HealthSustainability. |
| spellingShingle | Danielle M. Smith Javier Sales Aleyah Williams Sarah Munro Pregnancy intentions of young women in Canada in the era of climate change: a qualitative auto-photography study BMC Public Health Climate Change Family Planning Eco-Anxiety Women’s Health Sustainability. |
| title | Pregnancy intentions of young women in Canada in the era of climate change: a qualitative auto-photography study |
| title_full | Pregnancy intentions of young women in Canada in the era of climate change: a qualitative auto-photography study |
| title_fullStr | Pregnancy intentions of young women in Canada in the era of climate change: a qualitative auto-photography study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pregnancy intentions of young women in Canada in the era of climate change: a qualitative auto-photography study |
| title_short | Pregnancy intentions of young women in Canada in the era of climate change: a qualitative auto-photography study |
| title_sort | pregnancy intentions of young women in canada in the era of climate change a qualitative auto photography study |
| topic | Climate Change Family Planning Eco-Anxiety Women’s Health Sustainability. |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15674-z |
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