Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Sep 5:4:17.
doi: 10.1186/s40748-018-0085-1. eCollection 2018.

Prevalence and correlates of unintended pregnancy in Ghana: Analysis of 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey

Edward Kwabena Ameyaw  1
Affiliations

Prevalence and correlates of unintended pregnancy in Ghana: Analysis of 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey

Edward Kwabena Ameyaw. Matern Health Neonatol Perinatol. .

Abstract

Background: Unintended pregnancies increase levels of stress, adoption of risky behaviours and impact on women's general quality of life. In Ghana, in spite of the paucity of literature on unintended pregnancies, the phenomenon is high especially among women in the early years of their reproductive health. This study therefore sought to investigate the prevalence and correlates of unintended pregnancies in Ghana.

Methods: This study made use of data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey. Descriptive statistics were conducted whereby prevalence of unintended pregnancy was presented in proportions. This was followed by binary logistic regression to investigate correlates associated with unintended pregnancy.

Results: Descriptively, unintended pregnancies were high among women aged 15-19 years (69.4%), unmarried women (45.1%) and non-working women (40.0%). Factors found to be associated with the phenomenon were age, parity and level of education. The binary logistic regression revealed that women in middle wealth category were 1.42 times more probable of having unintended pregnancy than poor women whilst rich women were less likely to experience unintended pregnancy [OR = 0.89, CI = 0.35-0.79] as compared to poor women. Again, urban women were more likely to experience unintended pregnancies as compared rural women [OR = 1.39, CI = 0.86-1.95].

Conclusion: The study has indicated that specific interventions must be targeted at different categories of women. The Reproductive and Child Health unit of the Ghana Health Service ought to collaborate with non-governmental organisations to intensify access to well-tailored family planning services among adolescents and young women, women out of marriage and the non-working category.

Keywords: Correlates; Ghana; Prevalence; Unintended pregnancy; Women.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Since secondary data was used no ethical approval was sought, however, permission was sought from Measure DHS for use of the data.The author declares that he has no competing interests.Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

References

    1. Sedgh G, Singh S, Hussain R. Intended and unintended pregnancies worldwide in 2012 and recent trends. Stud Fam Plan. 2014;45(3):301–314. doi: 10.1111/j.1728-4465.2014.00393.x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Guttmacher Institute The measurement and meaning of unintended pregnancy. Perspect Sex Reprod Health. 2003;35(2):94–101. doi: 10.1363/3509403. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Singh S, Wulf D, Hussain R, Bankole A, Sedgh G. Abortion worldwide: a decade of uneven progress. New York: Guttmacher Institute; 2009.
    1. Guttmacher Institute et al. In: Special analyses. In Adding It Up: The Costs and Benefits of Investing in Family Planning and Maternal and Newborn Health. Singh S, et al., editors. New York: Guttmacher Institute and United Nations Population Fund; 2009.
    1. Sable R, Wilkinson D. Impact of perceived stress, major life events and pregnancy attitudes on low birth weight. Fam Plan Perspect. 2000;32(6):288–294. doi: 10.2307/2648197. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources