Premarital Pregnancies among Migrant Workers

The Case of Domestic Helpers in Hong Kong

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12499092
AutoresA A Ullah (0000-0003-1441-141X, autor de correspondencia)
Año2010
Volumen16
Número1
Páginas62-90
Fecha de publicación2010-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAsian Journal of Women s Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1225-9276 • E-ISSN: 2377-004X
EditorialTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/12259276.2010.11666083
OpenAlexW2559961956
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas11
Referencias citadas13

This paper deals with premarital pregnancies of women living away from their place of origin as Foreign Domestic Helpers (FDHs), a population that is mostly from the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand and comprise 5 percent of the population in Hong Kong. All of the women workers studied here moved to Hong Kong alone, on two years contracts with the possibility of extension. This paper tries to identify the factors in their becoming pregnant while abroad, outside of wedlock and the ensuing consequences on their economic, health and social lives. Randomly selected, 336 FDHs (211 Filipinas; 72 Indonesians; and 53 Thais) were interviewed, using both closed and open-ended questionnaires. Preliminary findings show that 97 percent of the respondents had premarital sex and of them 36 percent became pregnant. About 61 percent of the pregnancies were "unwanted' while 39 percent were "wanted' pregnancies. This study is of immense significance as premarital pregnancy subsequently determined the life trajectories of the women; and it has crucial policy implications for both the governments of their countries of origin and destination

Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Political science · Population · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Thais · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Demography · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Migration and Labor Dynamics