Unintended Pregnancy among Pregnant Women in Ghana: Prevalence and Predictors

Abstract

Background. Unintended pregnancy is seen as the key concept for better understanding the fertility and the unmet need for family planning of populations. It is seen as a major challenge among women in many developing countries including Ghana. However, there is scarcely nationally representative information on its prevalence and predictors in Ghana. Methods. In a cross-sectional study design, data for this study were extracted from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey. The prevalence of unintended pregnancies was computed, and logit regression models were fitted to predict the factors influencing unintended pregnancies in the country. Results. The total prevalence of unintended pregnancies among pregnant women in Ghana was found to be 40%. Background characteristics such as age (OR=4.85, CI=1.48-15.84), level of education (OR=0.50, CI=0.26-1.01), marital status (OR=3.83, CI=1.67-8.75), parity (OR=0.13, CI=0.05-0.32), and region of residence (OR=0.11, CI=0.03-0.31) were the significant predictors of unintended pregnancy, net of unmet need for contraception. However, unmet need for contraception (OR=7.13, CI=1.57-8.91) serves as an independently significant predictor of unintended pregnancy regardless of the background characteristics of respondents. Conclusions. The study findings strongly underscore the need for significant improvement in the access to contraception methods and family planning information in the quest to considerably reduce unintended pregnancies in the entire country.

Spatial variations and socioeconomic determinants of modern contraceptive use in Ghana: A Bayesian multilevel analysis

“…The study shows a considerably low modern contraception prevalence among the study sample. In effect, unmet need for contraception is found to play a significant role in unintended pregnancies in Ghana [15]. Furthermore, there is evidence of spatial dependencies or clusterings of modern contraceptive use across the country.…”

Healthcare system indicators associated with modern contraceptive use in Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria: evidence from the Performance Monitoring and Accountability 2020 data

“…This trend reflects a high proportion of unmet need for contraception in sub-Saharan Africa compared to other regions; in 2015 the prevalence of unmet need for contraception among women (aged 15-49) in a union was 24.2% in sub-Saharan Africa, 12% in southeast Asia, and 7.3% in northern Europe. Furthermore, scientific evidence points to the higher odds of unmet need for contraception and limited contraceptive use among women who report an unintended pregnancy [3][4][5][6][7]. Therefore, to decrease unmet need for contraception in sub-Saharan Africa, experts must continue to examine factors that promote the use of modern contraceptives.…”

<p>Unmet Need for Contraception Among Young Married Women in Eastern Ethiopia</p>

“…[4][5][6] Although various socio-cultural factors hinder pregnancy planning in these settings, 7 unmet needs for contraception are primarily attributed to unintended pregnancies in young married women. 6,8,9 Unmet need for contraception refers to the proportion of currently married women of reproductive age not using contraception while wishing either to delay the timing of the next birth for at least 2 years or to prevent if would have preferred to limit childbearing. 10 Globally, young married women between the ages of 15 and 24 years experience greater unmet needs than that by married young and sexually active unmarried young women aged between 25 and 49 years.…”