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.