Prevalence and factors associated with unintended pregnancies: A study from a clinic in Tshwane district, South Africa

Abstract

The South African Demographic and Health Survey (SADHS, 2020) reported that 74 million women from low and middle-income countries had unintended pregnancies resulting in 25 million unsafe abortions and 47 000 maternal deaths. According to this survey, approximately 14 million of these unintended pregnancies were from sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the South African government’s initiative of offering free reproductive health care services, as a strategy to prevent unintended pregnancies, SADHS (2020) reported that 20.4% of pregnancies in 2019 were unintended. This is a 3.1% increase from the 17.3% reported in 1998. The aim of this study was therefore, to determine the prevalence and describe the factors contributing to unintended pregnancies among women accessing ante-natal services in a selected clinic in Tshwane district, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Based on a cross-sectional survey design, data were collected using self-administered questionnaires from 368 participants who were selected through a convenience sampling method. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the factors associated with unintended pregnancy, and the results are presented using odd ratios (OR). The prevalence of unintended pregnancy was 59.24%. The variables associated with unintended pregnancy were: age (OR= 1.0954), income (OR= 1.4090), and the desire to have more children (OR = 2.1081). The prevalence of unintended pregnancies was higher among women with a low level of education, receiving a low salary, older women, and those with a desire to have more children. The findings implicate the need for public health programmes that could facilitate the uptake and sustainable use of contraceptives thereby reducing the prevalence of unintended pregnancies and abortion-related complications amongst women as well as improving maternal and child health.