Fertility management in Taiwanese and African-American women
Lethbridge, D.J.
Journal of Obstetric Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing Jognn 24(5): 459-463
1995
ISSN/ISBN: 0884-2175 PMID: 7658258 DOI: 10.1111/j.1552-6909.1995.tb02503.xDocument Number: 294286
This article identifies some common, culturally-influenced practices among women in Taiwan and Black women in the US that influence fertility management. The aim is to make nurses in a counseling setting more aware that assumptions about mainstream American lifestyles and values may not apply to African-Americans or other ethnic populations. Differences in childbearing patterns among Blacks should not be dismissed as unsatisfactory because of normative differences. Both women of Taiwan, who are culturally Chinese, and Black women in the US are influenced by Western norms and expectations but do not adopt mainstream behaviors and expectations. Both groups are influenced by mainstream culture but have unique patterns of fertility management and varying degrees of success in preventing unwanted pregnancies. Black women are inclined to bear children while unmarried, to have children at a younger age, and are more likely to use a permanent method of contraception for prevention of unwanted pregnancies. Taiwanese women tend to manage fertility by being less sexually active before marriage, marrying later, and being influenced by son preference.