Responsible 

Fatherhood 

Spotlight 

February 2010

Take Time to Be a Dad Today 

National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse  20410 Observation Drive Suite 107  Germantown, MD 20876  

Toll-free: 1 (877) 4DAD411  Fax: (301) 948-4325  www.fatherhood.gov 

Fathers’ Pregnancy Intentions and 

Involvement With Children 

Men’s pregnancy intentions (i.e., wanting or not wanting a pregnancy) have been found to have important 

implications for the quantity and quality of fathers’ later involvement with their children and partners and 

for child well-being. 

Definitions 

Pregnancy intentions refer to men’s feelings about their partners’ pregnancies. Such pregnancies can 

either be intended (planned at the time of conception), mistimed (not wanted at the time of conception, 

but wanted eventually), or unwanted (not wanted at the time of conception or ever in the future).8, 10 

Importance and Implications of Fathers’ Pregnancy Intentions 

The relatively small body of research on fathers’ pregnancy intentions has found that men who report that 

a partner’s pregnancy was unintended are likely to exhibit lower levels and poorer quality of involvement 

with their children following birth. In addition, men’s pregnancy intentions are associated with the quality 

of the father-mother relationship and with children’s cognitive and socioemotional well-being. 

Implications of Pregnancy Intentions for Fathers’ Later Involvement with Children 

Little research exists that directly examines the link between male pregnancy intentions and father 

involvement, but existing evidence suggests that men’s pregnancy intentions do have important 

implications for the quantity and quality of involvement that fathers exhibit with their children following 

birth. 

 Studies examining men’s pregnancy intentions generally find that men whose relationships result 

in unintended pregnancies show lower levels of subsequent involvement with their children, 

compared with men who report that the pregnancy was planned and wanted.8, 9, 10, 29, 34 

 Parents who experience an unintended pregnancy are less likely to invest their time and 

emotional resources on that child, compared with parents who wanted the pregnancy.4

o Men may be especially unlikely to invest in a relationship with a child resulting from an 

unintended pregnancy. They may feel little or no responsibility for a child that they did not 

plan to have, especially given their perception that they have less control over 

contraception and birth planning than do women.2, 7, 21

 Unintended pregnancies may also negatively impact the quality of fathers’ involvement with their 

children. Children resulting from unwanted pregnancies may experience less positive parenting 

behaviors, such as reduced parental support, poorer quality parent-child interactions, more 

authoritarian parenting styles, and parental rejection.1, 3, 4, 9, 11, 20

 Studies find that fathers who report that a pregnancy was unintended exhibit lower levels of 

involvement with the resulting children in a number of areas, including caregiving, warmth, and 

nurturing behaviors, compared with fathers who wanted the pregnancy.9, 13, 15, 27

 Men whose partners experience unintended pregnancies also exhibit lower levels of prenatal 

involvement (e.g., discussing the pregnancy with their partner; attending childbirth classes; being 
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present at child’s birth), suggesting that the diminished levels of involvement associated with 

unintended pregnancy begin even before a child is born.9

 

 The negative effects of having an unintended pregnancy may be more pronounced for 

pregnancies that were unwanted than for pregnancies that were merely mistimed.25, 30, 35, 38

Implications for Fathers and the Coparental Relationship 

Men’s pregnancy intentions are associated with fathers’ mental health and the quality of the father-mother 

relationship. 

 Unintended pregnancy is linked to problems with fathers’ emotional well-being and identity 

development.

o Men who report that a pregnancy was unintended may experience increased strain on 

their mental health, which can result in higher rates of depression and other negative 

outcomes.6, 10

o Unplanned pregnancies are associated with men’s identity development. During the 

transition to fatherhood, men reorganize their personal identity and reestablish 

themselves in their existing roles and in their new role as a father.37 Unplanned 

pregnancies can lead to negative transitions into fatherhood, which may have adverse 

repercussions for father’s role and identity perceptions.37 

 Unintended pregnancy is also associated with the quality of the mother-father relationship. 

o The father-mother relationship has been found to decline in quality following the birth of a 

child,18, 24 and this decline may be especially pronounced following a pregnancy that is 

unintended.31

o Unplanned pregnancy is linked to less happiness and satisfaction in the father-mother 

relationship, which can lead to coparental relationships that are marked by low levels of 

supportiveness and high levels of conflict.8, 10, 17, 19, 31

o Couples with mistimed or unwanted pregnancies have been found to have increasingly 

negative interactions over time, beginning during the last trimester of pregnancy and 

extending throughout the child’s first year.17

o Men’s readiness to assume an active coparenting role after a child’s birth can be a 

function of whether or not the pregnancy was planned. Couples that plan to have a child 

may have a greater sense of control over the transition to parenthood and may be more 

able to develop successful coparenting strategies, to renegotiate their new roles as 

coparents, to support one another, to share responsibilities, and to resolve childrearing 

differences.16, 22 

Implications for Child Well-Being

 Existing research examining mothers’ pregnancy intentions has generally found negative 

associations between unintended pregnancies and children’s later well-being.1, 3, 11, 12, 33, 39, 40, 41

o Adverse effects have been found to be stronger for unwanted than for mistimed children, 

and may depend on both parents’ pregnancy intentions.26

 Studies examining fathers’ pregnancy intentions have found that when fathers report that 

pregnancies were unintended, children exhibit lower levels of mental proficiency and attachment 

security.8

 

 Furthermore, children’s well-being may be affected adversely when unintended pregnancies 

result in low levels of father involvement, in that such involvement has been linked to a host of 

child outcomes. These include cognitive outcomes, such as problem solving, literacy, and mental 

proficiency at two and three years of age,5, 23, 32, 36 and socioemotional outcomes, such as sex-role 

identification, behavioral problems, and social competence. 5, 14, 15, 28 
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Resident Fathers’ Pregnancy Intentions 

The following estimates are for fathers of infants (nine-month-old children). 

Figure 1 shows that one in four resident fathers did not want their partner’s pregnancy to occur. 

 Twenty-five percent of fathers reported not having wanted the pregnancy. 

 Nearly one in 10 fathers (10 percent) reported having wanted the pregnancy to occur sooner than 

it did. 

 Nearly two in 10 fathers (19 percent) reported having wanted the pregnancy later than it occurred. 

 Almost one-half of fathers (46 percent) reported that their partner’s pregnancy occurred at or 

about the right time. 

Figure 1: One in Four Resident Fathers Did Not 

Want the Pregnancy

25.2%

9.9%

18.6%

46.3%

Father did not want

pregnancy

Father wanted

pregnancy sooner

Father wanted

pregnancy later

Pregnancy occurred

about the right time

Source: ECLS-B, 9-month resident father survey
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Differences in Fathers’ Pregnancy Intentions by Subgroup 

The following estimates are for fathers of infants (nine-month-old children). 

Differences by Father Age 

Figure 2 and Table 1 show the pregnancy intentions of resident fathers of different age groups. 

Adolescent fathers were most likely to report that they did not want the pregnancy and least likely to 

report that the pregnancy occurred at about the right time. 

 Teenage fathers were more likely to report that they did not want the pregnancy (38 percent) than 

were fathers in any other age group. 

 Teenage fathers were less likely than were other fathers to report that the pregnancy occurred at 

or about the right time (25 percent). 

 Younger fathers (< 24 years) were more likely to report having wanted the pregnancy later (32 

percent) than were fathers aged 25-34 and 35 and older (19 percent and 13 percent, 

respectively). 

Figure 2: Resident Teen Fathers Were Most Likely to 

Report Not Wanting the Pregnancy and Least Likely 

to Report that the Pregnancy Occurred at the Right 

Time

38

27 29

5 5

9

32

22

14

32

19

13

45

25

36

51

0

20

40

60

80

100

Less than 20 20-24 25-34 35+

Age

Percent

Father did not

want

pregnancy

Father wanted

pregnancy

sooner

Father wanted

pregnancy

later

Pregnancy

occurred

about the right

time

Source: ECLS-B, 9-month resident father survey

Table 1. Resident Fathers’ Pregnancy Intentions by Age 

Father 

Age 

Father Did Not 

Want 

Pregnancy 

Father Wanted 

Pregnancy 

Later 

Father Wanted 

Pregnancy 

Sooner 

Pregnancy 

Occurred at About 

the Right Time 

<20 38% 32% 5% 25% 

20-24 27% 32% 5% 36% 

24-34 22% 19% 9% 51% 

35+ 29% 13% 14% 45% 

Source: Child Trends’ analysis of ECLS-B 9-month data 
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Differences by Race/Ethnicity 

Figure 3 and Table 2 show the pregnancy intentions of resident fathers by race/ethnicity. Among resident 

fathers, non-Hispanic black fathers and fathers of other ethnicities were most likely to report not wanting 

the pregnancy and least likely to report that the pregnancy occurred at the right time. 

 Non-Hispanic black fathers and fathers of “other” ethnicities were most likely (34 percent for both) 

to report not wanting the pregnancy. 

 Non-Hispanic black fathers and fathers of “other” ethnicities were less likely to report that the 

pregnancy occurred at the right time (36 percent and 43 percent, respectively). 

 Non-Hispanic black fathers were the most likely across racial and ethnic subgroups to report 

wanting the pregnancy to occur later (22 percent). 

Figure 3: Non-Hispanic Black Fathers and Fathers of 

Other Ethnicities Were Most Likely to Report Not 

Wanting the Pregnancy and Least Likely to Report 

that the Pregnancy Occurred at the Right Time. 

34

8

20

26

34

7

11 9

19 20 22

14

47 50

43

36

0

20

40

60

80

100

Hispanic Non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic black Other

Race/Ethnicity

Wantedness

Father did

not want

pregnancy

Father

wanted

pregnancy

sooner

Father

wanted

pregnancy

later

Pregnancy

occurred

about the

right time

Source: ECLS-B, 9-month resident father survey

Table 2. Resident Fathers’ Pregnancy Intentions by Race/Ethnicity 

Father 

Race/ethnicity 

Father Did 

Not Want 

Pregnancy 

Father 

Wanted 

Pregnancy 

Later 

Father 

Wanted 

Pregnancy 

Sooner 

Pregnancy 

Occurred at 

About the Right 

Time 

Hispanic 26% 20% 7% 47% 

Non-Hispanic 

White 20% 19% 11% 50% 

Non-Hispanic 

Black 34% 22% 8% 36% 

Other 34% 14% 9% 43% 

Source: Child Trends’ analysis of ECLS-B 9-month data 

Definitions and Measurement 

Fathers’ pregnancy intentions were measured using a single item asking fathers whether a pregnancy 

was a) unwanted; b) wanted, but at a later time; c) wanted sooner than it occurred; or d) wanted and 

occurred at the right time. The survey directly asks respondents if they felt that the baby was wanted and 

if the birth was properly timed or was mistimed. These measures are obtained directly from men and 

probe feelings at the time of conception, as recalled when the baby was nine months old. 
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Data Sources 

The tables and charts in this brief documenting resident fathers’ pregnancy intentions are based on Child 

Trends’ analyses of data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) 9-month 

surveys. The ECLS-B is a nationally representative longitudinal survey of American children born in 2001. 

The ECLS-B includes 10,688 children and their caregivers, and it follows these children from infancy until 

the time that they enter first grade. Data were collected through parent interviews, direct child 

assessments, birth certificate data, and interviews with children’s caregivers and teachers. The National 

Center for Education Statistics collected the data. 

Data Limitations 

Because fathers are asked about their pregnancy intentions nine months after their child’s birth, data 

presented here represent fathers’ retrospective reports of prenatal involvement, which may be biased due 

to distortion and recall error. In addition, these questions were asked only of resident fathers and 

therefore may not be representative of the prenatal involvement of fathers who do not live with their 

children. 

Resources 

 The Healthy Marriage Resource Center provides research-based information about marriage in 

the United States and about programs designed to improve relationship quality: 

http://www.healthymarriageinfo.org/ 

 The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services supports programs and research about 

fatherhood development and the importance of fathers for children: http://fatherhood.hhs.gov/ 

 The National Center on Fathers and Families provides research-based information on father 

involvement and child well-being aimed at improving children’s lives through the positive 

participation of their fathers: http://www.ncoff.gse.upenn.edu/ 

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