THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PREGNANCY AND SEXUAL RISK-TAKING

OBJECTIVES: We attempted to determine whether risks of acquiring sexua lly transmitted diseases differ between pregnant and nonpregnant women . STUDY DESIGN: Women attending clinics in Brooklyn (332 pregnant and 1069 nonpregnant) were interviewed and tested for Trichomonas vaginali s and Chlamydia trachomatis. Independent-sample t tests were conducted via SPSSX (SPSS Inc., Chicago) to assess differences in risk behavior across pregnancy status. RESULTS: In the pregnant sample 17.2% had po sitive test results for chlamydia and 23.4% had T. vaginalis. In the n onpregnant women the rates were 10.9% and 17.7%, respectively (p < 0.0 1). Pregnant respondents used condoms less consistently than nonpregna nt women (p < 0.01). Although nonpregnant women reported a higher freq uency of sexual activity and more sexual partners in the previous mont h, the strength of those relationships was weak. CONCLUSION: We have f ound that pregnancy does not represent a time of reduced sexual risks. The differences in self-reported risk, with the exception of consiste ncy of condom use, all showed very weak indexes of strength. Providers of obstetric services should incorporate ''safer sex'' messages into routine prenatal care.