Prevalence and risk factors for unwanted pregnancy in Tigray, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: In developing countries, around 75 million of all births annually result from unwanted pregnancies. Fifty million of these pregnancies end up with induced abortion. In Africa, most of the induced abortions are unsafe. In Ethiopia, there is still an information gap on the prevalence of unwanted pregnancy and its determinants.
Objective: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and determinants of unwanted pregnancy among reproductive age women in two districts of Tigrai regional state, Ethiopia.
Methodology: This study used community-based cross-sectional design. The data was collected using a structured and pretested questionnaire. A multistage sampling technique was employed. Women, who had been pregnant in the three years preceding the survey, including those pregnant at the time of the survey, were included. Bi-variate and multivariate regression analyses were carried out to elicit the impact of each factor on the occurrence of unwanted pregnancy. Bivariate logistic regression analysis was carried out between the selected predictor variables and outcome variable (unwanted pregnancy). All the variables that showed significant association (p<0.05) in the bivariate analysis were included in a multivariate logistic regression analysis.
Results: The response rate was 94.6 percent (n=473). The mean age of the study participants was 28.3+6.2 years. The study showed that 62 women (13.1%) had experienced at least one unwanted pregnancy. Factors associated with unwanted pregnancy were marital status of divorced or separated, parity, total number of children, and experience of sexual abuse.
Conclusion: The rate of unwanted pregnancy remains high despite the provision of health education on family planning methods to women. Much effort is needed in behavioral communication targeting both sexes. Readdressing the implementation and enforcement of regional women’s reproductive health right policy could be crucial for reducing the magnitude of unwanted pregnancy.