Unwanted pregnancy and related causes in pregnant women in Kerman, 2013

Unwanted pregnancy is a global health issue which impacts the families and societies, negatively. Women with unwanted pregnancy due to unpleasant sensations during pregnancy, are at the risk of hypertension, abortion, preterm birth and low birth weight. The current study was aimed to survey unwanted pregnancy rate and related causes in pregnant women in Kerman, 2013. A cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study was randomly carried out on 231 pregnant women referring to the Afzalipour Maternity Center of Kerman in 2013. Information was collected by individual interviews, using a confirmed researcher-made questionnaire with reliability of 0.81 and validity coefficient. Data analysis was done by descriptive indices and chi-square test, using SPSS-17 software. In current study 30.3% unwanted pregnancy was reported. The probability of having unwanted pregnancy was significantly increased with increasing mother’s age, (P=0.001) and decreased with increasing level of mother’s education (P=0.02). The chance of unwanted pregnancy in families with more children was higher (P=0.0001). There was significant relation between unwanted pregnancy and the husband’s age (P=0.02) and job (P=0.02). Also significant relationship was seen between unplanned pregnancy and contraceptive method (P=0.04). The level of knowledge in unwanted pregnancy group was less than wanted pregnancy group and it was statistically significant, too (P=0.002). The health care centers were the main source of getting contraceptive information. The results of this study state that there is an inverse relationship between unwanted pregnancy and number of children, low level of women’s education and higher age of mother. Thus, these factors should be considered more precisely in consulting for choosing the contraceptive methods.