Unintended pregnancy among low income urban married women in India

Abstract

Introduction: The most common reason for demand for abortion in India is unintended pregnancy.

Aim: To obtain information from low income urban married women regarding incidence and cause of unintended pregnancy.

Methods: All pregnant married women belonging to low income group were selected for study. The incidence and cause of unintended pregnancy among low income group was noted. Comparison was done between education of the women and parity at which they came with unintended pregnancy also the reasons women gave for nonuse of contraception were compared with their education. Statistical analysis was done using EPI Info ver-5.0. Chi square test was used to test the significance of data.

Results: The total 7,146 women comprised the study group. The incidence of unintended pregnancy was 15.5 %. Educated women came with unintended pregnancy at lesser parity than illiterate women. The most common reason given by women for not using contraception was that they did not think they could become pregnant (42.6 %).

Conclusion: The incidence of unintended pregnancy in low income urban population is low because there are fewer pregnancies which were wanted. There is need to create awareness regarding use of contraception. Education plays a major role in improving the acceptance of contraception.