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Sex-for-Crack-Cocaine Exchange, Poor Black Women, and Pregnancy

2001; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 11; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1177/104973201129119334

1552-7557

Tanya Telfair Sharpe,

Migration, Health and Trauma

A sample of 34 poor Black women who exchanged sex for crack was screened to discover if sex-for-crack exchanges resulted in pregnancies. Ethnographic interviews were conducted with women who became pregnant this way. Out of the 34 women, 18 reported sex-for-crack pregnancies, and more than half of that number became pregnant this way more than once. Twenty-nine pregnancies were reported. Only 2 women chose to have abortions. Interview transcripts were analyzed using qualitative data analytical procedures. The following three issues shaped the women’s responses to sex-for-crack pregnancies: (a) severity of crack use, (b) religious beliefs, and (c) social organization patterns within poor Black communities. The findings have implications for drug treatment and child welfare policy.