Abstract
BackgroundUnmet need for contraception and unintended pregnancy are important public health concerns both in developing and developed countries. Previous researches have attempted to study the factors that influence unintended pregnancy. However, the association between unmet need for contraception and unwanted pregnancy is not studied adequately. The aim of the present study was to measure the prevalence of unmet need for contraception and unwanted pregnancy, and to explore the association between these two in a nationally representative sample in Bangladesh.MethodsData for the present study were collected from Bangladesh demographic and health survey conducted in 2011. Participants were 7338 mothers ageing between 13 and 49 years selected from both rural and urban residencies. Planning status of last pregnancy was the main outcome variable and unmet need for contraception was the explanatory variable of primary interest. Cross tabulation, chi-square tests and logistic regression (Generalised estimating equations) methods were used for data analysis.ResultsMean age of the sample population was 25.6 years (SD 6.4). Prevalence of unmet need for contraception was 13.5%, and about 30% of the women described their last pregnancy as unintended. In the adjusted model, the odds of unintended pregnancy were about 16 fold among women who reported facing unmet need for contraception compared to those who did not (95% CI = 11.63–23.79).ConclusionNational rates of unintended pregnancy and of unmet need for contraception remain considerably high and warrant increased policy attention. Findings suggests that programs targeting to reduce unmet need for contraception could contribute to a lower rate of unintended pregnancy in Bangladesh. More in-depth and qualitative studies on the underlying sociocultural causes of unmet need can help develop context specific solutions to unintended pregnancies.
Highlights
Unmet need for contraception and unintended pregnancy are important public health concerns both in developing and developed countries
We aim to evaluate the prevalence of unintended pregnancy and investigate the association between of unmet need for contraception and unwanted pregnancy
Unmet need for contraception refers to non-utilization of contraception measures among women who are fecund and sexually active, not want any more pregnancies or want to delay the pregnancy
Summary
Unmet need for contraception and unintended pregnancy are important public health concerns both in developing and developed countries. Rate of unintended pregnancy declined in the country, at a slow pace from 33% in 1993 to 29% in 2011 [14] Despite these achievements, the prevalence of unmet need for family planning still remains high and have been increasing albeit slowly in recent years. One longitudinal study conducted on rural women in Bangladesh during 2006 and 2009 found that about a quarter of the women with unmet need for contraception experienced unwanted pregnancy [15]. These findings reveal that unmet need is a growing concern and can be regarded as a missed opportunity to address unintended pregnancy in the country
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