The context of unintended pregnancy among married women in the USA

Abstract

Background and methodology Unintended pregnancy is a concern in the USA due to its association with adverse physical, mental, social and economic outcomes. Few studies have examined this issue among married women from a social and contextual perspective. This study targeted married women to examine factors associated with unintended pregnancy using the ecological model of health promotion that focuses attention on both individual and social environmental factors. Data from the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) were merged with NSFG contextual files to examine the major predictive factors. target for the general population of women in the USA for intended pregnancies, set at 70%, 3 will not be met. Unintended pregnancy is associated with significant and costly physical, psychological and socioeconomic risks to both mother and child. 4,5 Children born as a result of an unintended pregnancy are more likely to be premature, have a low birth weight, and are at increased risk for child abuse. 2,6,7 Women who experience an unintended pregnancy are more likely to have inadequate prenatal care, 7 a lower educational level, and live in poverty. 2,8 Although unintended pregnancy is higher among unmarried women, little attention has been paid to the significant and unique concerns that are experienced by married women. Among married women, approximately 27% have reported an unintended pregnancy in the 2002 survey. Among married women, there has been little improvement since 1995 when the unintended pregnancy rate was 28%. 1 Explanations as to why married women have not made significant progress in the reduction of unintended pregnancy are unclear. marital dissolution had a higher probability of an unintended pregnancy. Women reported that their husbands were likely to concur with the unintended designation of the pregnancy. Results Discussion and conclusionsThis study utilised a unique perspective to examine contextual factors related to unintended pregnancy among married women. The results support the need to focus on the couple as a unit for prevention efforts. Social policies to enhance access to family planning services are necessary to improve outcomes and prevent unintended pregnancies.Keywords ecological model, family planning education, health promotion, married women, unintended pregnancy Researchers at the Emory Center on Health Outcomes and Quality 9 reported that one-third of the unintended pregnancies among the 1173 births examined in this study occurred among married, educated and commercially insured women. Only 40% of the women with unintended pregnancy reported using contraception at the time of the study. Goldsmith et al. 10 also examined knowledge of emergency contraception in a population-based sample of women in Oregon. The majority (69.5%) of the sample included married women. They noted that lack of knowledge about emergency contraception was associated with unintended pregnancy when controlled for marital status and age. Theoretical modelWhile multiple factors have been studied in relat...

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Pregnancy intention in an urban Australian antenatal population

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