These are direct quotes from women talking about what they want from health practitioners.
Validate the patient’s experience. Additionally, practitioners could say:
“What you are describing sounds like “reproductive coercion”. This is when someone tries to deliberately control your decisions about pregnancy, contraception or termination. It is a form of abuse and it is not ok.”
“It may feel like you have no choice, but we can support you to either have a termination or continue with pregnancy. Support is available either way.”
“It may feel like you have no choice, but we can support you to either have a termination or continue with pregnancy. Support is available either way. ”
“It‘s your body, it‘s your choice but I understand you‘ve got lots of pressures that impact your decision.”
“ Being forced to have a termination doesn’t make you a bad person. ”
“Just because you had a termination in the past doesn‘t mean you won‘t be a good mother now.”
“You can be a good mother and still have a termination. Mothers have to make termination decisions too. ”
“Parenting can be really hard. It’s not unusual to feel resentful of your kids sometimes, especially if it wasn’t your choice to become a parent. ”
“Society often presents motherhood as joyful and natural, but it can be really hard to bond with your child when a partner has controlled your pregnancy.”
Things you could do to support patients experiencing reproductive coercion
The CARE principles apply here Additionally, practitioners could:
Talk about how it’s normal to have conflicting thoughts and emotions about the relationship and mothering.
Provide information or referral to a relevant support group.
Ask the woman about what she thinks the motivation of the partner is for her to be pregnant. If it is part of a control pattern she might be at greater risk for her safety.
Explore contraceptive options that may be less detectable by a partner.