Relationship between unintended pregnancy and induced abortion

Objective (s): 

Induced abortions are mostly unsafe, so they are considered as a threat to mothers' health. Unintended pregnancy is one of the most important variables affecting induced abortion. The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between unintended pregnancy and induced abortion.

This was a quantitative study. A self-designed questionnaire was used to collect data. The statistical population included married women aged 15 to 49 living in Sadra city of Fars province, Iran. The data was collected from April to May 2022. For data analysis, SPSS software version 20 was used.

A total of 379 people were studied. The results showed that among the demographic variables, only religion had a significant effect on the odds ratio of experiencing an induced abortion. The experience of an unintended pregnancy also significantly increased the risk of induced abortion.

The findings suggest that training women of reproductive age might be helpful to reduce unintended pregnancies and, subsequently, reduce intentional abortions.