Does unwanted pregnancy lead to adverse health and healthcare utilization for mother and child? Evidence from low- and middle-income countries

Abstract

Objectives Unwanted pregnancy is an important public health concern in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Using a pooled dataset from 48 Demographic Health Surveys conducted in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe (n = 494,778), we examined the effect of unwanted pregnancy on maternal and child healthcare utilization and child health outcomes in LMICs. Methods We used logistic regression models to estimate the effect of unwanted pregnancy on antenatal care use, supervised delivery, childhood vaccination and three indicators of child health, viz. stunting (height-forage), underweight (weight-forage) and wasting (weight-for-height). Results We found that mothers of children whose pregnancies had been unwanted had a lower probability of attending four or more antenatal care visits by 3.6% (95% confidence interval = 1.9-5.4%) compared to those whose pregnancy was wanted. We did not find significant impacts of unwanted pregnancy on supervised delivery, childhood vaccination uptake or child health indicators. Conclusions Birth characteristics, household-level determinants and country-level characteristics seem to be more closely related to maternal and child healthcare utilization as well as child health outcomes than whether the pregnancy was wanted or unwanted in LMICs. Keywords Unwanted pregnancy Á Maternal and child healthcare Á Child health Á Low-and middle-income countries This article is part of the special issue ''Sexual and reproductive health of young people-Focus Africa''. The Rudolf Geigy Foundation (Basel, Switzerland) funded the open access publication of this article.

Prevalence of Undernutrition and Associated Factors among Pregnant Women in a Public General Hospital, Tigray, Northern Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study Design

“…In this study, mothers with wanted type pregnancy were 75% less likely [AOR = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.14, 0.448] to became undernutritioned than those with unwanted pregnancy. This finding is similar to the evidence from low- and middle-income countries which indicated that unwanted pregnancy can affect maternal nutrition, health service, and child nutrition [ 23 , 24 ]. This is because mothers with wanted pregnancy type have planned programs on how to feed themselves and prepare to have diversified food types in their homes.…”

Undernutrition among Pregnant Women in Rural Communities in Southern Ethiopia

“…This finding is similar to evidence from low- and middle-income countries indicating that unwanted pregnancies can affect maternal nutrition, health service, and child nutrition. 22 , 33 This could be associated with women’s demand to invest in their pregnancy or spouse support as a result of their planned pregnancy. We were surprised that women who did not participate in Women’s Health Development Army meetings were more likely to be undernourished than their counterparts.…”

Unmet need for family planning and associated factors among currently married women of reproductive age in Bishoftu town, Eastern Ethiopia

“…A rise in contraceptive prevalence rate and the decline in unmet need for family planning significantly reduces maternal mortality and disability associated with complications of pregnancy and child birth [ 5 – 11 ]. Despite this fact, unacceptably millions of women suffer from unintended pregnancies (both mistimed and unwanted) and related consequences worldwide every year [ 9 – 12 ].…”