UNINTENDED PREGNANCY: ASSOCIATED FACTORS AND OUTCOMES AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN

Background: Unintended pregnancy is a major public health issue in developed anddeveloping countries. Unintended pregnancies may be mistimed or unwanted. It hadmultiple risky health outcomes. Aim: The study was aimed to assess the associated factorsand outcomes of unintended pregnancy among pregnant women. Subjects and Method:The study followed a descriptive cross sectional design on 365 pregnant women withunintended pregnancy who were chosen by convenient sample technique. Setting: Thestudy was conducted at governmental hospitals in EL-Mansoura City, Egypt including: Theantenatal clinics of Obstetric and Gynecological specialty Center at EL-MansouraUniversity Hospitals, Old General Hospital and Mansoura International Hospital. Tools ofdata collection: Data were collected by using structured Interviewing Questionnaire.Results: Age, higher family size, lower family income, gravidity, parity, number of childrenand birth spacing were significantly associated with unintended pregnancy. Also, (70.7%)of the studied women were used family planning method before pregnancy occurred, while(29.3%) were not using or discontinued contraception. More than half (60%) of studiedwomen were not attended antenatal follow up regularly with (56.8%) attended antenatalfollow up only once. Conclusion and Recommendations: Age, higher family size,gravidity, parity, number of children and birth spacing were the most important predictorsof unintended pregnancy. It is recommended to develop educational programs andcampaigns especially for rural areas to improve awareness regarding family planning.Keyword: Unintended pregnancy, prevalence, contraception, outcomes.