Abstract
BackgroundUnwanted pregnancy is a global issue with adverse outcomes for the mother, child, family, and society. Previous studies in Iran have reported different prevalence rates for unwanted pregnancy. This meta-analysis was aimed at estimating the overall prevalence of unwanted pregnancy among Iranian women.MethodsA total of 20 articles in English or Persian, published between 2012 and December 2018, were collected. The search was conducted in national and international databases, including Scientific Information Database (SID), MagIran, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, using the following keywords: ‘Unplanned pregnancy’, ‘Unintended pregnancy’, ‘Unwanted pregnancy’, and ‘Mistimed pregnancy’. The data were analyzed using the meta-analysis method and the random effects model. Heterogeneity among studies was assessed using the I2 statistic. All analyses were performed using Stata, version 12.ResultsAnalysis of 20 studies with a total sample size of 16,298 showed that the prevalence of unwanted pregnancy among Iranian women was 26% (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 23–28). This prevalence was higher in the regions 5 and 2 of Iran (27%) than the other regions, and had no significant decrease between 2012 and 2018 (p = 0. 937).ConclusionMore than one-fourth of pregnancies among Iranian women are unwanted. Providing training programs for couples who do not plan to have children along with the support policies aimed at stimulating population growth, can be an important step in overcoming the issue of unwanted pregnancy and reducing the illegal abortions related to it.
Highlights
Unwanted pregnancy is a global issue with adverse outcomes for the mother, child, family, and society
Unwanted pregnancy refers to a pregnancy that is mistimed or unwanted by one or both partners [1, 2].Of 210 million pregnancies that occur each year throughout the word, about 80 million (40%) are unwanted, and one in 10 women ends her pregnancy by an unsafe abortion [3]
The actual prevalence of unwanted pregnancy in Iran may be higher than the reported rates, because in the Iranian society, some women tend to hide their unwanted pregnancy from others, and this makes it Sayehmiri et al BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth (2019) 19:491 difficult to obtain accurate information on this issue [10]
Summary
Unwanted pregnancy is a global issue with adverse outcomes for the mother, child, family, and society. Previous studies in Iran have reported different prevalence rates for unwanted pregnancy. This metaanalysis was aimed at estimating the overall prevalence of unwanted pregnancy among Iranian women. The actual prevalence of unwanted pregnancy in Iran may be higher than the reported rates, because in the Iranian society, some women tend to hide their unwanted pregnancy from others, and this makes it Sayehmiri et al BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth (2019) 19:491 difficult to obtain accurate information on this issue [10]. Given the fact that the management of unwanted pregnancy requires accurate and upto-date information, the present study aims to estimate the prevalence of unwanted pregnancy among Iranian women
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