Fathers, Unintended
Becoming a father unintentionally is not all that uncommon. According to an analysis from the Guttmacher Institute, “Exploring U.S. Men’s Birth Intentions,” about four out of ten births among men are unintended. Roughly, two-thirds of those births were reported by the dads as mistimed while about one-third were unwanted. Keep in mind that those researchers equated an unplanned birth with an unintended pregnancy; although, there could be variations on that pregnancy to birth outcome, i.e., when a once wanted pregnancy ends up as an as an unwanted birth and vice versa. Working with data from the National Survey on Family Growth, the researchers found that unintended births are more common among younger men and men with lower levels of education than among older and more educated men, respectively. Among the racial and ethnic disparities, the highest percent of unintended births was especially prevalent among black men (51 percent) while smaller proportions were among
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However, it is likely--given the Guttmacher Institute report on men and unintended pregnancy--that a number of the single fathers in the Pew report are unintended fathers as well. To better understand the role and impact that single fathers have in the lives of children, seven facts stand out from the Pew report:
(1) Men make up a growing share of single parent households. In 1960, single fathers headed about 14 percent of single parent households; in 2013, 24 percent did.
(2) Single fathers are more likely than single mothers to be with a partner (41 percent versus 16 percent).
(3) Single fathers, compared to a two-married-parent household are younger, less educated, less financially well off and less likely to be white. Sounds