To the Editor:
Alicia Andrzejewski’s essay, “What Is Academe’s Problem With Pregnancy?” (The Chronicle Review, April 30), profoundly echoes stories expressed in my research on pregnant and parenting students. In interviews with higher education administrators — including Title IX coordinators and student affairs professionals — many noted that pregnant students continue to be stigmatized and rarely access support, not because they don’t need it, but because they don’t know it exists. Though Title IX guarantees nondiscrimination and accommodations, institutions often fail to communicate rights clearly or provide visible points of contact.
As Andrzejewski notes, the problem isn’t just policy — it’s culture. One administrator shared that it was taboo to discuss caregiving if one wanted to be taken seriously as a scholar. Another said some faculty on conservative campuses view student pregnancy as a personal choice that institutions should not have to accommodate for as they do temporary medical conditions. Yet the most powerful stories I encountered underscore that human relationships — not just policy — can mitigate the higher education penalties pregnant and parenting students face. Even administrators at under-resourced institutions made meaningful differences for these students when faculty and staff were visible, informed, and committed. One Title IX coordinator related that she could “see the relief melt off pregnant students when you just tell them [staying in college] is all figure-outable.”
We need a cultural shift in higher education that recognizes pregnancy and parenting not as liabilities but as part of a rich academic community worth supporting. As we call nontraditional students back to complete degrees and support the workforce, let’s be realistic about their adult learning needs. After all, childbearing years and postsecondary education years often coincide. While the Trump administration vacated Biden’s 2024 Title IX guidance, it did not ban the recommended stronger support measures for pregnant and parenting students. Some administrators are voluntarily aligning with those standards. As Andrzejewski suggested, support for pregnant students often begins with one person who cares enough to act — and we need more of that now.
Lori D. Rhea
Research Assistant
Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
University of Houston
