Abstract

PIP: The findings of three researchers about pregnancy intendedness as a measure for understanding maternal and child health outcomes were evaluated. Studies have linked unintended pregnancy to some behaviors and to negative birth weight. Several issues undermine the validity of intendedness as it is presently measured, such as recall bias implicit in retrospective queries about intention; and pregnancy intention as a complex concept. Moreover, discrepancies between the stated and actual contraceptive practice of women also complicated the issue of intention status. Also, the issue of mistimed versus unwanted pregnancy presented another problem. Thus, intendedness may be too complex to quantify and measure accurately.