Factors Associated with Unwanted Pregnancy

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to estimate the proportion of unwanted pregnancies (UWPs) and related factors among mothers delivering at all hospitals in Tehran. We investigated, in cross-sectional study 6,394 clients, parental age, education and occupation, interval of live children pregnancies, and rate of abortion. A Chi-square test and Hi-Log linear were used in this study. In this study, 2,443 (38.2%) of all cases were UWPs, of which 4.6% (n = 297) resorted to abortion (p < 0.0001). About 38% of all women had no prenatal care. Seventeen percent of the women under 20 and 66.2% of those above age 35 had had UWPs (p < 0.0001). Forty-one percent (n = 2,640) of all cases were illiterate or had primary education and 28% (n = 1,793) had a high school education or higher (p < 0.0001). Forty-seven percent (n = 18) of mothers were workers and 28.1% (n = 147) were employees (p < 0.0001). Although such variables as age, occupation, level of education, prenatal care, family size, and pregnancy interval affect rates of unwanted pregnancy in developing countries, regardless of the cause unwanted pregnancy and its negative consequences can be prevented by access to health services.

Prevalence of unwanted pregnancy in Iran: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Unwanted pregnancy is associated with child complications such as low birth weight, and infant mortality as well as decreased life opportunities and heavier demands on public services (Mohllajee et al ., ). However, the result of research, which focused specifically on the relationship between unwanted pregnancy and neonatal weight, is conflicting (Faghihzadeh et al ., ; Mohllajee et al ., ; Cunningham et al ., ).…”

“…Women with unwanted pregnancies are also 25% less likely to initiate care in the first trimester and 29% less likely to receive at least an adequate number of doctor visits. Babies born from teenage parents are at increased risk for a variety of health‐threatening events, including physical, sexual and mental abuse; economic and educational deprivation; and neglect (Faghihzadeh et al ., ; Finer and Henshaw, ; Mohllajee et al ., ; Cunningham et al ., ; Xaverius et al ., ).…”

Predicting Unwanted Pregnancies among Multiparous Mothers in Khorramabad, Iran

“…In a study by Faghihzadeh et al (2003) on women living in Tehran, the prevalence of unwanted pregnancies was 38.2%, and using log-linear models, significant relationships were reported between a high mother's age and low pregnancy spacing with unwanted pregnancies32. This finding corresponds with the results of the logistic regression model used in the present study about the impact of low pregnancy spacing, but does not correspond with the high mother's age, which can be explained by the differences in the selected samples in the two studies.…”

“…Of course, due to the limitations related to the selection of the statistical population, the results of these studies cannot be generalized to other societies (3,4,9,11,25). The statistical models used in previous studies include simple logistic regression (3,4,6,8,11,(25)(26)(27), multinomial logistic regression9,30, artificial neural networks (25,28,29), and log-linear models (30). It is necessary to mention that, despite the fact that the decision tree method has been widely used in the prediction of medical outcomes (31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37), this technique has been used in few studies on unwanted pregnancies.…”

Comparing the satisfaction and efficacy of Cyclofem and contraceptive pills among females in Northern Iran: A randomized controlled trial study

“…[2] The unwanted pregnancy is one of the most important social health problems related to birth control plans which may result in serious mental and physical problem for mother and kid, and for all the family members as well. [3]…”