Outbreak and Factors of Unwanted Pregnancy among Women Referring to Health Care Centers of Ardabil, 2002

Unwanted pregnancy is a general and worldwide issue that has an impact on not only the women but the families and societies as well. It may be caused by a failure to use contraceptive methods and paying less attention to family planning methods. This may result in negative effects on community health. This study is an attempt in this regard. In this descriptive-analytical study 600 pregnant women referring to health care centers in Ardabil were selected through cluster sampling (5 clusters). The data were collected in the form of questionnaires filled in by the researchers interviewing the subjects. These data were then analysed by SPSS software using descriptive and inferential statistics. The subjects ranged between 13 to 44 years old (Mean=25.13). Among them 93.5% were housewives and 18.5% were illiterate. Majority of them (72%) wanted to have two children. 30.8% of the present pregnancies were unwanted and 11.2% of the women had the experience before. Age average in unintentionally pregnant women was greater than that of intentionally pregnant ones (28.5 and 23.7 years old respectively). This difference was statistically significant. 75.7% of the unwanted pregnancies had happened despite using family planning methods. The rate of unwanted pregnancy among illiterate women was significantly greater than that among the educated ones (52.34% and 26.7% respectively). Also there was a significant relationship between the type of pregnancy on the one hand and the husbands’ education and the wife’s employment on the other (P<0.0001). With regard to 30.8% prevalence of unwanted pregnancy and irregular use of contraceptive methods, it can be claimed that training the pregnant women and providing them with necessary information have been insufficient. It seems necessary to teach them the methods of contraception and follow them up.