Magnitude of unintended pregnancy and its determinants among childbearing age women in low and middle-income countries: evidence from 61 low and middle income countries

Frontiers in Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

Biresaw Ayen Tegegne¹  Rediet Eristu Teklu²  Adugnaw Zeleke Alem²  Fantu Mamo Aragaw²  Tsegaw Amare³ 

[1] Department of Anesthesia, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia;Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia;Department of Health Systems and Policy, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia;

关键词: unintended pregnancy;    multilevel analysis;    low and middle-income countries;    child bearing age;    women;   

DOI  :  10.3389/frph.2023.1113926

 received in 2022-12-01, accepted in 2023-05-29,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundUnintended pregnancy is one of the most serious health issues in low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), posing significant health, economic, and psychosocial costs to individuals and communities. However, there is limited evidence on the prevalence of unintended pregnancies and their determinants in LMICs. Hence, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of unintended pregnancy and its associated factors among childbearing-age women in LMICs.MethodData for the study were drawn from a recent 61 Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted in LMICs. A total sample of 187,347 mothers who gave birth in the five years preceding the survey was included. STATA version 16 was used to clean and analyze the data. Multilevel multivariable logistic regression was employed to identify individual and community-level factors of unintended pregnancy in LMICs. In the multivariable analysis, an adjusted odds ratio with a 95% confidence level was reported to indicate statistical association.ResultsThe pooled magnitude of unintended pregnancy in LMICs was 26.46%% (95% CI: 25.30%, 27.62%), ranging from 19.25%% in Egypt to 61.71% in Bolivia. Working status (AOR =  1.03; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.06), having a husband with no education (AOR = 1.07; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.15), and primary education (AOR =  1.05; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.11), women from male-headed households (AOR = 1.04; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.08), media exposure (AOR = 1.05; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.08), unmet need for contraception (AOR = 1.05; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.08), distance from a health facility (AOR = 1.03; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.06) were significantly associated with unintended pregnancy.ConclusionUnintended pregnancy rates remain high in LMICs. Women whose husband has no education and primary education, women with media exposure, working status, women who live in a household headed by male, women with unmet need for contraception, and women with a big problem of distance to health facilities were variables that were significant predictors of unintended pregnancy. When attempting to minimize unintended pregnancy in LMICs, these factors need to be considered. Furthermore, most of these attempts should be driven by government entities in low and middle-income countries.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
© 2023 Aragaw, Amare, Teklu, Tegegne and Alem.