Staying or Leaving: Educational Pathways After Unplanned Pregnancy Among College Women of Color

Unplanned pregnancy can disrupt higher education, yet less is known about how college women of color navigate educational pathways following pregnancy-related disruption. This qualitative phenomenological study examined the academic consequences of unplanned pregnancy and the conditions shaping persistence, interruption, return, and completion. A focused reanalysis was conducted using interviews from a broader study of sexual and reproductive health. Eleven college women of color with experiences of unplanned pregnancy participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Four themes characterized participants’ educational experiences: pregnancy as academic disruption; relational and academic support for persistence; nonlinear educational pathways involving delay, return, redirection, and completion; and educational decision-making under pregnancy pressure. Pregnancy affected education through withdrawal, reduced academic engagement, health and financial pressures, and competing responsibilities. Family members, partners, childcare networks, and faculty flexibility supported continuation and return. Importantly, temporary interruption or changes in educational direction did not necessarily indicate educational disengagement. Educational persistence following unplanned pregnancy may instead involve adaptation, interruption, reentry, and altered pathways toward completion. The findings suggest that higher education institutions may better support pregnant and parenting students through coordinated academic, financial, childcare, and reentry assistance that reduces reliance on individual circumstances and informal support networks.