Unintended pregnancy in the United States: incidence and disparities, 2006

Abstract

Background The incidence of unintended pregnancy is among the most essential health status indicators in the field of reproductive health. One ongoing goal of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is to reduce unintended pregnancy, but the national rate has not been estimated since 2001. Study Design We combined data on women’s pregnancy intentions from the 2006—08 and 2002 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) with a 2008 national survey of abortion patients, data on births from the National Center for Health Statistics, induced abortions from a national abortion provider census, miscarriages estimated from the NSFG, and population data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Results Nearly half (49%) of pregnancies were unintended in 2006, up slightly from 2001 (48%). The unintended pregnancy rate increased to 52 per 1,000 women aged 15—44 years old in 2006, from 50 in 2001. Disparities in unintended pregnancy rates among subgroups persisted, and women who were 18—24 years old, poor, or cohabiting had rates two to three times that of the national rate. The unintended pregnancy rate declined notably for teens 15—17 years old. The proportion of unintended pregnancies ending in abortion decreased from 47% in 2001 to 43% in 2006, and the unintended birth rate increased from 23 to 25 per 1,000 women 15—44 years old. Conclusions Since 2001, the U.S. has not made progress reducing unintended pregnancy. Rates increased for nearly all groups and remain high overall. Efforts to help women and couples plan their pregnancies, such as increasing access to effective contraceptives, should target groups at greatest risk of unintended pregnancy, particularly poor and cohabiting women.

Do Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding Intrauterine Devices Predict Interest in Their Use?

“…Young women (ages [18][19][20][21][22][23][24] continue to experience the highest rates of unintended pregnancy and birth in the U.S. (Finer & Zolna, 2011). In recent years long-acting reversible contraceptive methods, including IUDs, have been promoted as a means to reduce unintended pregnancy, particularly for young women, who increasingly spend the bulk of their reproductive years avoiding pregnancy (Finer & Philbin, 2014).…”

From research to practice: dissemination of the Contraceptive CHOICE Project

“…The overarching goals were to ensure that research participants were informed of study results and increase knowledge about LARC and study results to target populations. Table 2 presents the planning stage workflow, which includes the following: (1) creating a workgroup to drive fulfillment of the CE&D goals; (2) defining target audiences who would benefit from an innovative model of contraceptive care, and might alter their practice or behavior after hearing about LARC and CHOICE results; (3) engaging the help of CHOICE participants, local stakeholders, and community experts to identify approaches to effectively reach target audiences; and (4) using results and insights from stakeholders to transition to the knowledge and persuasion stage.…”

“…Each year, approximately half of all pregnancies that occur in the USA are unintended-a rate that has not changed over the past 20 years [1,2]. Unintended pregnancy has been associated with adverse maternal behaviors such as delayed prenatal care and substance abuse during pregnancy which often results in poor birth and infant outcomes [3,4].…”

The Religious Exemption to Mandated Insurance Coverage of Contraception

“…The result is that nearly half of U.S. pregnancies-more than 3 million annually-are unintended, and unintended pregnancy rates increased by 50 percent among poor women between 1994 and 2006 [20,21]. Although there are myriad reasons behind these statistics, cost is one important access barrier, particularly with respect to long-acting, reversible methods (such as the IUD and the implant) that are extremely effective and cost-effective in the long run, but have high up-front costs.…”