Reproductive coercion
Interference with contraception, pregnancy, or your decisions about either.
Educational content, written from published research and recognized domestic-violence resources. How this content is developed. MendRii is general-public educational software — not a clinical service, assessment or professional advice.
What it looks like
Contraception goes missing, gets damaged, or becomes a subject of pressure. Pregnancy, or preventing it, becomes something decided about you rather than by you.
Things people actually hear
- "A baby would fix us."
- "I threw the pills out. We don't need them."
- "If you keep it, you're on your own. If you don't, we're done."
Why it works
Peer-reviewed work on reproductive coercion documents behaviors including contraception sabotage, pressure to become pregnant, and pressure to continue or end a pregnancy. It is studied as a distinct form of abuse and it often co-occurs with other controlling behavior.
It can run in either direction — pressure toward pregnancy and pressure against it are both interference with your decisions.
Because it can affect health care and timing, a clinician or a sexual-health service can be a practical and confidential place to start, separately from anything about the relationship.
When it may be something else: partners genuinely disagreeing about whether or when to have children is ordinary and painful. Disagreement is not coercion. Interference, deception and consequences for your decision are a different thing.
One way to respond
"Decisions about my body and whether I have a child are mine. I'm not negotiating that away."
Only use a script like this if it's safe to. If pushing back has consequences for you, safety comes first — see Get help.
Educational content only. Not a diagnosis, and not legal, medical or therapeutic advice.