Onbedoelde zwangerschap bij complexe problematiek

General practitioners (GP’s) are confronted with patients with complex psychosocial problems that run the risk of having unintended and unwanted pregnancies. This raises two questions: 1) to what extend do GP’s have the right to enter the private sphere of patients in order to discuss whether they should have children? And 2) how can such a conversation be successful? Based on a case, in this contribution we argue that GP’s can play an important role in sustaining the autonomy of patients with complex problems and we provide suggestions on how to start a conversation about this topic. The contribution ends by sketching how GP’s can get support in situations like this by a governmental national program Nu Niet Zwanger (Not Pregnant Now), that supports health care professionals in sustaining the autonomy of vulnerable groups in choices around pregnancy and contraception.

Conflict of interest and financial support: ICMJE forms provided by the authors are available online along with the full text of this article.