Gender perspectives on family planning and preconception health

Sexual and reproductive health and care is a highly gendered research area. This PhD-project reviews current ideals for family planning in Sweden, and how they relate to procreative consciousness and responsibility, and experiences of pregnancy and parenthood.

The project explores men's awareness about fertility and lifestyle in relation to pregnancy, and evaluate whether procreative consciousness and responsibility can be increased by an intervention based on Reproductive Life Plan (RLP)-counselling with a midwife.

Data was collected through

1. a pilot study with 136 couples in early pregnancy,
2. a cohort study with 2000 parents,
3. a randomized control trial with RLP-counselling for men, and
4. an in-depth interview study with men aged 20-35 years.

Theories of life scheduling/life paths (age, gender and sexuality) and masculinities compose the theoretical framework.

Researcher: Maja Bodin

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Access to the finished thesis: To Plan or Not to Plan: Gender Perspectives on Pregnancy Planning, Fertility Awareness and Preconception Health and Care