Magnitude of unintended pregnancy and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care at Durame Maternal and Child Health Center, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Unintended pregnancy is the major sexual and reproductive health problem which carries a higher risk of morbidity and mortality for women, often due to unsafe abortion. Even though family planning services are effective and available than ever before, unintended pregnancy and unsafe abortion are the major public health problems in the study area. Therefore, this study aims to assess the magnitude of unintended pregnancy and its associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care at Durame Maternal and Child Health center, Southern Ethiopia. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with 385 participants. The results revealed that among the total participants, 26.8% with 95% CI (0.229-0.307) had unintended pregnancies. Mothers who were not knowledgeable about family planning methods (AOR=2.541, 95% CI=1.953, 6.101), family size of six or more (AOR=2.8, 95% CI=1.19, 6.60), a history of greater than six pregnancies (AOR=7.323, 95% CI=3.987, 10.056), and mothers who had a historyof 3-4 pregnancies (AOR=3.210, 95% CI=1.678, 4.721) were among significantly associated factors with an unintended pregnancy. The magnitude of unintended pregnancy in Durame town was optimal compared to other studies. The number of pregnancies, knowledge about family planning methods, and family size were among the significantly associated factors with an unintended pregnancy. Therefore, special attention could be taken to these high-risk groups in terms of increasing accessibility and availability of maternal health services and counselling. By doing this, the chance of unintended pregnancy could be reduced.