As the number of women in the Navy and the types of assignments open to them have increased, pregnancy and its impact have become emotional and controversial issues. Nonetheless, the overall impact on the Navy is manageable and education is the key.
In the past 15 years, the number of women in the Navy has doubled. In December 1993, the Navy announced plans to assign women permanently to combatant ships, combat aviation squadrons, and mobile naval construction force units.1 Except for submarines and special warfare, virtually every type of unit in the Navy is open to women.
This growth in numbers and types of assignment has resulted in women serving widely throughout the Navy. With their increased presence, especially in the operational forces, pregnancy and its impact have become controversial and emotional issues. In November 1987, the Navy Personnel Research and Development Center (NPRDC) was tasked to conduct research upon which the Navy could make policy decisions related to pregnancy issues.2
One of the study's objectives was to investigate the impact of pregnancies of enlisted women on mission accomplishment.3 Because the Navy has no single measure of mission accomplishment applicable to ships, aviation squadrons, and shore commands that would be useful in evaluating the impact of pregnant women, researchers looked at five indicators: early separations, unexpected transfers, workplace absences, pre-deployment pregnancies, and performance.
Before addressing the impact of pregnancy on mission accomplishment, it is important to know how many women are pregnant at any one time. To obtain comprehensive information about the incidence of pregnancy, the Navy Personnel Research and Development Center surveyed Navy enlisted women in May 1988 and again in 1990 and 1992.4
These surveys reveal point-in-time pregnancy rates for enlisted women ranging from 8.4% to 8.9% (Table 1). The surveys also show that pregnancy is most prevalent among women in their first enlistment, peaking at the seaman apprentice/seaman pay grades. There are several possible explanations for the higher rate among junior women. Perhaps most important, these women are at a very fertile period in their lives. The Navy pregnancy rate and the civilian birth rate for the prime childbearing years from 20 to 29 are about the same.5 Another possible explanation is that these young women are away from home, most for the first time, and lack the social support and guidance that close friends and relatives can provide. Also, men outnumber women nine to one in the Navy, and some young women may not be able to deal with the inevitable sexual attention (in 1992, 70% of the men who fathered the babies of seaman apprentice to petty officer third class women were in the military).
Table 1: Pregnancy Rate at Time of Survey | |
Year | Pregnancy Rate |
1988 | 8.6% |
1990 | 8.9% |
1992 | 8.4% |
The widely held perception that pregnancy rates are higher among women assigned to sea duty than among those at shore stations is not supported by the NPRDC data. As can be seen in Table 2, the percentage of pregnant women who were assigned to a ship at the time they became pregnant was lower than the percentage who were ashore. The data for women who had ever been pregnant also show a lower rate for shipboard women than shore-based. More recent data show that between 1988 and 1993, the annual pregnancy rate on board ships dropped by about 25%.
Why, then, is this perception so persistent? One reason is that a portion of what is thought of as shipboard pregnancy actually occurs ashore. That is, some women are pregnant when they report for duty. In fiscal year 1988, for example, 13% of the women in ships who had to be reassigned to shore duty because of pregnancy were pregnant when they reported to the ship. Another contributor is that women who are reassigned ashore because of pregnancy usually are replaced by other women, some of whom also become pregnant. Finally, ships have a higher proportion of female seaman than most shore establishments.
Women who become pregnant while outside the continental United States create additional problems for Navy management, such as when they must be transferred because obstetrical care or housing is not available. The survey data demonstrate, however, that these pregnancy rates differ little from those inside the continental United States (Table 2).
Table 2: Pregnant Women by Duty Location in 1988 | |
Location | Percentage of Women Who Were Pregnant |
Ashore | 9.0% |
Afloat | 6.8% |
CONUS | 9.4% |
Out of CONUS | 8.4% |
The marital status of pregnant women is also a concern because of the difficulties some unmarried women encounter trying to fulfill both their military and parental responsibilities. The survey data discloses that the pregnancy rate for married women was 14.2%, while the rate for single women was only 5.1%. In addition, the pregnancy rate for unmarried Navy women and the birth rate for single civilian women are roughly comparable, indicating that Navy women do not get pregnant simply because the benefits are perceived to be better than those in the civilian world.
Even though the pregnancy rate for single women was quite low, it did constitute a substantial proportion of pregnant women. Of all the women who were pregnant, 36.5% were single throughout the pregnancy. This rate does not, however, represent the proportion who became single parents. Only 54% of the unmarried women delivered a live infant. Further analysis showed that of the women who were single throughout their most recent pregnancy, 35% subsequently married.
- Early Separations. Commands are affected when a pregnant woman leaves the Navy prior to the end of her enlistment. In fiscal year 1990, 30,626 enlisted personnel left the Navy prior to completing their first enlistment contracts.6 Among women, pregnancy was the number one reason for early separation, at 28% (Table 3). For the entire Navy, however, pregnancy was a minor cause of early separation, ranking seventh and 'representing only 4% of all premature separations. Separating for punitive reasons and personality disorders had a much greater overall effect, causing 25% and 24% of all early outs, respectively. Thus, pregnant women are not likely to have a meaningful impact on separation rates within commands.
Table 3: Separations in Fiscal Year 1990 Prior to Completion of Enlistment | |||
Reason | Women | Men | All Navy |
Punitive | 8% | 27% | 25% |
Personality Disorder | 18% | 24% | 24% |
Convenience of the Government | 17% | 16% | 16% |
Medical | 14% | 16% | 16v |
Behavior | 3% | 7% | 6% |
Commission | 3% | 5% | 5% |
Pregnancy | 28% |
| 4% |
Hardship/Parenthood | 6% | 3% | 3% |
Sexual Deviance | 2% | 1% | 2% |
- Unexpected Transfers. Pregnant women must be transferred from ships when they reach the end of the 20th week of their pregnancy or when ships deploy. Pregnant women at certain overseas locations must be transferred because of inadequate medical facilities or housing. Pregnant women in squadrons may be transferred when their squadrons deploy. Given these requirements, how prevalent are these transfers? Navy records indicate that during fiscal year 1990, women comprised 12% of all personnel transfers that were not normal end-of-tour rotations or school transfers. Among women, pregnancy accounted for less than a quarter of all unexpected transfers (Table 4).
Table 4: Unanticipated Transfers for Women in Fiscal Year 1990 | ||||
Reason for Transfer | Command Women Transferred From | |||
Shore | Ship | Squadron | All | |
Pregnancy | 18% | 29% | 20% | 21% |
Other Reasons | 82% | 71% | 80% | 79% |
Because pregnant women assigned to ships must be transferred, this rate is higher than for aviation squadrons and shore stations. The actual figure for squadrons is probably underreported, however, because transfers within the aviation community sometimes occur between squadrons within the same wing, often without notifying the Bureau of Naval Personnel.
Unanticipated personnel transfers impact mission accomplishment because of the vacancies that result and the length of time that it takes to fill the vacancies. With pregnancy, however, the date of the "impact" is known and therefore should not be as disruptive as other losses. Under most circumstances, the search for a replacement for the pregnant woman can begin several months before the actual loss. For other unexpected losses, the process of finding a replacement does not start until the vacancy occurs. A 1991 survey of all enlisted detailers shows that shipboard vacancies as a result of pregnancy averaged 2.6 months, whereas other vacancies typically lasted 5 to 6 months.
- Predeployment Pregnancies. Early separations and unexpected transfers are especially hard on a ship that is about to deploy. For years, the conventional wisdom has been that some women deliberately get pregnant to avoid a deployment. To investigate the validity of this perception, NPRDC researchers compared the monthly counts of new pregnancies for six months before and six months after the most recent deployment of five ships. For each ship, pregnancy counts varied considerably from month to month, but overall, newly reported pregnancies did not peak immediately before deployment. Pregnancies increased by one or two, but in crews averaging 300 women, this change probably was not meaningful. A rise in new pregnancies did occur five months after deployment.
- Workplace Absences. A common belief is that because women get pregnant and men do not, women lose more time from their jobs. Information on absenteeism is not tracked by the Navy except for days hospitalized or in a disciplinary status, so work diaries were designed by NPRDC researchers to collect data on absences at 50 commands (9 ships, 13 aviation squadrons, and 28 shore activities).7 The diaries were kept by first-line supervisors, who documented the reasons and durations of all subordinates' absences of 20 minutes over a seven-day period. Added to this was data on lost time as a result of disciplinary status.8
The tabulations reveal that the percentage of time men and women were available for duty was about equal (Table 5). The researchers did find, however, that absenteeism for women was higher at certain types of shore commands. Specifically, women lost an average of 17 minutes more a day than men at naval stations, naval air station/air intermediate maintenance detachments, and shore intermediate maintenance activities. This difference probably is the result of these commands receiving pregnant women who are transferred from ships and aviation squadrons. The impact is minimal, however, because a pregnant woman reassigned from a ship or squadron is an "overage" who does not count against a receiving command's personnel allowance and does not occupy a billet normally available to sailors rotating ashore.
Table 5: Percentage of Time Available for Duty | ||||
Group | Ship | Squadron | Shore | All |
Men | 95% | 94% | 95% | 95% |
Women | 96% | 93% | 93% | 94% |
\
Performance. Information on performance of pregnant women was gathered by NPRDC researchers through more than 450 interviews at the 50 commands where the work diaries were maintained. Commanding officers, executive officers, command master chiefs, and department and division heads who had direct knowledge of the performance of pregnant women were interviewed.
The results show that a majority of the respondents felt that other personnel have to work longer or harder because of pregnant women (Table 6). This view was particularly strong in aviation squadrons. Most enlisted women in maritime patrol and reconnaissance squadrons are assigned to the maintenance department, where their duties typically involve substances or activities that could be hazardous to an unborn child. Therefore, these women normally are reassigned to another work group within the command for the duration of their pregnancy; coworkers in the original group consequently have an increased workload. One reason the impact may be greater on aviation squadrons is that, unless it deploys, a squadron retains a woman throughout her entire pregnancy and convalescence.
Table 6: Interview Responses Concerning Impact of Pregnant Women | |
Do other personnel have to work longer or harder because of pregnant women? | |
In ships | 65% |
In aviation squadrons | 74% |
In traditional shore commanders | 60% |
In nontraditional shore commands | 59% |
Despite the increased workload on coworkers, the mission is accomplished. Just as a command copes when a man is in the brig or an unauthorized absentee, it also makes adjustments for a pregnant woman. When asked by researchers, commanding officers and executive officers felt the mission of the command would not suffer if 9% of the women in their commands were pregnant. Thus, with the current representation of women in these commands and a normal pregnancy rate, the impact is manageable.
Conclusion
Pregnancy must be kept in perspective. Most Navy women, especially junior women, are in their prime childbearing years and some will become pregnant. Nonetheless, the overall impact on the Navy is manageable.
The solution is not to control or reduce the number of women in commands, but to reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies, especially in the operational forces. NPRDC researchers found that 68% of the pregnancies of very junior women (seaman recruit to seaman) were unplanned, as were 45% of the pregnancies of petty officers. More than half of these women had not been using contraceptives. The majority of those who said they were practicing birth control probably were not doing so correctly, considering the relatively low failure rate for the contraceptives they were using.
The Navy should pursue several fronts to reduce the impact of pregnancy:
- Pregnancy rates within Navy commands must continue to be monitored. Until recently, a Navy-wide survey was conducted every two years. The resulting data could be used to identify any increases in the percentage of pregnant women that could impact mission accomplishment so appropriate action can be taken.
- The assignment process should be reviewed to determine whether there are more expedient ways to fill vacancies resulting from pregnancies.
- Effective birth control must be available to those who wish to use it. More emphasis needs to be placed on consistent use of reliable birth control methods. Quality control of oral contraceptives must be maintained and women on oral contraceptives who are being transferred should be given a sufficient supply to cover the waiting period for a gynecological examination.
- Every incoming woman and man must be provided information on human sexuality, sexually transmitted diseases, methods of preventing unwanted pregnancies, and Navy regulations pertaining to pregnancy. This type of training should be repeated at each new duty station.
- Additional training should be designed and targeted specifically to personnel in their first enlistment, where pregnancy rates are highest and financial resources are low, to foster responsible sexual behavior and mature decision making. It should address responsibility to the Navy in terms of timing of the pregnancy, the needs of infants and children, financial considerations, and factors contributing to unplanned pregnancy.
Times have changed, and the Navy must deal with pregnancy in ways that help the Navy accomplish its mission without penalizing women, men, or commands.
1 "Change in Assignment Policy for Women," NAVOP 22/93, CNO msg 291637Z, December 1993.
2 The following reports are the sources for this article: Patricia J. Thomas and Jack E. Edwards, Incidence of Pregnancy and Single Parenthood Among Enlisted Personnel in the Navy, NPRDC TR 90-1 (San Diego: Navy Personnel Research and Development Center, October 1989); Marie D. Thomas, Patricia J. Thomas, and Virginia McClintock, Pregnant Enlisted Women in Navy Work Centers, NPRDCTN-91-5 (San Diego: Navy Personnel Research and Development Center, March 1991); Patricia J. Thomas and Marie D.Thomas, Impact of Pregnant Women and Single Parents Upon Navy Personnel Systems, NPRDC-TN-92-8 (San Diego: Navy Personnel Research and Development Center, February 1992); Patricia J. Thomas, Marie D.Thomas, and Paul Robertson, Absences of Navy Enlisted Personnel: A Search for Gender Difference, NPRDC-TR-93-3 (San Diego: Navy Personnel Research and Development Center, March 1993).
3 Because the pregnancy rate for women officers is about half that of enlisted women and because they do not seem to create many management or personnel problems, the study and this article focus only on enlisted women.
4 Men were also included in the survey and were asked about the most recent pregnancy of their wives or female partners.
5 Civilian pregnancy rates are difficult to obtain. In 1988, the most recent year for which data are available from the Department of Health Services, the pregnancy rate for civilian women 20 to 24 years old was 185 per 1,000. The comparable Navy rate for that year was 129 per 1,000 women.
6 This figure does not include participants in the "early out" program, i.e., within three months of scheduled release date.
7 The 9 ships included 3 destroyer tenders, 4 submarine tenders, and 2 fleet oilers. The 13 aviation squadrons included 10 maritime patrol and 3 reconnaissance squadrons. The 28 shore activities included 7 naval stations, 5 naval air stations, 5 communications stations, 4 shore intermediate maintenance activities, 2 naval facilities, 2 hospitals, 2 air intermediate maintenance detachments, and 1 naval support activity.
8 Because personnel who were away from their commands as the result of a disciplinary offense were missing from the work diary sample, they were included by using information from data tapes maintained by the Navy.
AUTHORS' NOTE: The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Marie D. Thomas, who conducted many of the analyses reported in this article.
Captain Sadler is director of the Women in the Military Project for the Women's Research and Education Institute. While on active duty, she was head of the Women's Program Branch, OP-01. She holds a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Washington and has contributed to Proceedings on several topics.
Patricia Thomas is director of the Women and Multicultural Research Group at Navy Personnel Research Group and Development Center, San Diego. She holds a Masters of Science degree in psychology from San Diego State University and has been researching women's issues for the Navy since 1974.