Unintended pregnancy is a significant concern in the USA due to its association with adverse physical, social, and economic outcomes. Few studies have examined this issue among married women from a social and contextual perspective. This study targeted married women to examine factors associated with unintended pregnancy using the ecological model of health promotion that focuses on individual and social environmental factors. Data from the National Survey of Family Growth merged with NSFG contextual files to examine the significant predictive factors.
Multilevel logistic regression results revealed that married women of lower socioeconomic status, higher parity, who lived in communities with a high marital dissolution rate, had a higher probability of unintended pregnancy. Women reported that their partners were likely to concur with the unintended designation of the pregnancy.
This study utilized a unique perspective to examine contextual factors related to unintended pregnancy among married women. The study concluded that the need to focus on the couple as a unit for prevention efforts. Social policies to enhance access to family planning services are necessary to improve outcomes and prevent unintended pregnancies.
Reference: https://srh.bmj.com/content/36/3/150
