Chronic schizophrenic women's attitudes toward sex, pregnancy, birth control, and childrearing

Interviews with 23 chronically institutionalized, schizophrenic women living on a chronic care unit indicated that the majority had a continuing interest in sex and engaged in sexual activity. Fourteen of the women wanted to become pregnant. Few seemed to recognize their limited potential to be adequate parents. Respondents often gave bizarre or inaccurate responses to the interview questions, indicating that their ideas about contraception, pregnancy, and childrearing were affected by psychopathology. The authors concede that the task of designing and implementing birth control programs for severely ill schizophrenic patients is formidable but encourage mental health professionals to openly discuss sex, birth control, and having children with their patients.