Assessment of prevalence of unintended pregnancy and understanding the reasons in preventing unintended pregnancy among youth in Ethiopia, 2019.
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Date
2019-11
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Background: Globally every day 830 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth and 99% of maternal deaths occur in developing countries. Young people and adolescents face higher risk of complication. Unintended pregnancy among young people increases risk of maternal morbidity and mortality.
Objectives: The objectives of this study are to estimate the prevalence of unintended pregnancy among youth in Ethiopia and to explore the factors associated with the unintended pregnancy.
Methods: We employed mixed methods. The quantitative part applied cross sectional study design using data from Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) 2016. The dataset was accessed online www.measuredhs.com. The qualitative method applied in- depth interview of purposively selected 15-24 years old female who visited health facilities for antenatal or abortion care service. Quantitative data was analyzed using STATA version 14 software. Descriptive and binary logistical regression analysis techniques were used to estimate the prevalence unintended pregnancy and identify factors associated with unintended pregnancy. Qualitative data was analyzed by open code version 4.02 using content analysis method.
Result: Four hundred youths (6.5%) were found to be pregnant from a total of 6,143 (weighted) youths who participated in the 2016 EDHS. Among the pregnant youths 141(35.3%) had no education, 197(49.3%) attended primary school, 372 (93%) were married, 235(58.8%) were unemployed, and 343(85.7%) live in rural area. The prevalence of unintended pregnancy among pregnant youth was 25%. In-depth interview data analysis showed contraceptive failure, not using any modern contraceptive, low risk prediction, lack of support by family, partner disagreement and desire to continue education were found to be the main reasons for having unintended pregnancy.
Conclusion and Recommendation: The prevalence of unintended pregnancy among youth in Ethiopia is high. Effort should focus on empowering women to make them psychological and economic independent to enable them decide about their pregnancy. Changing the wrong belief and perception on modern contraception in the community is important to improve utilization of those methods by young women.
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Unintended pregnancy