The paper examines the background to 210 live exnuptial births studied in the first phase of the Christ-church Child Development Study. The results show: 1. That nearly half of the children had been conceived within cohabiting situations. 2. That nearly one in five ex-nuptial children was the result of a planned pregnancy. 3. Maternal reactions to the birth and pregnancy varied with the mother's situation: cohabiting mothers reported considerably less adverse reaction to the birth than did non-cohabiting mothers. 4. Overall, mothers of ex-nuptial children had a fairly sophisticated appreciation of contraceptive methods. 5. One quarter of unplanned ex-nuptial pregnancies were the result of contraceptive failure and three-quarters were the result of contraceptive non-usage. 6. In common with previous findings for nuptial pregnancies, about 35 percent of unplanned ex-nuptial pregnancies were ascribed to a breakdown in the mother's pattern of usage of the contraceptive pill.
PIP: The background of 210 live ex-nuptial births studied in the 1st phase of the Christchurch Child Development Study were examined. The mothers participated in an hour-long interview during the April 15, 1977-August 5, 1977 period, answering questions regarding various aspects of the birth and the pregnancy. The mothers of ex-nuptial children were classified into 2 groups in terms of the mother's status at the time of conception -- cohabitating with the child's father and not cohabitating with the child's father. Each group was cross-classified by a series of measures of the mother's reaction to the pregnancy. The results reveal the following: 1) almost 1/2 of the children had been conceived within cohabiting situations; 2) nearly 1 in 5 ex-nuptial children were the result of a planned pregnancy; 3) maternal reactions to the birth and pregnancy varied with the mother's situation -- cohabiting mothers reported much less adverse reaction to the birth than did the non-cohabiting mothers; 4) overall, mothers of ex-nuptial children had a fairly sophisticated appreciation of contraceptive methods; 5) 1/4 of the unplanned ex-nuptial pregnancies were the result of contraceptive failure and 3/4 were the result of contraceptive non-usage; and 6) about 35% of the unplanned ex-nuptial pregnancies were ascribed to a breakdown in the mother's pattern of usage of the oral contraceptive.