Unplanned pregnancy-risks and use of emergency contraception: a survey of two Nigerian Universities

Anthony Idowu Ajayi,Ezebunwa Ethelbert Nwokocha,Oladele Vincent Adeniyi,Daniel Ter Goon,Wilson Akpan

doi:10.1186/s12913-017-2328-7

Abstract

BackgroundThe vulnerabilities of young women of low socio-economic status and those with little or no formal education tend to dominate the discourse on unplanned pregnancy, unsafe abortion and emergency contraception (EC) in sub-Saharan Africa. This article draws on a survey conducted among female undergraduate students to shed light on sexual behaviour and the dynamics of emergency contraceptive use among this cohort.MethodsThe survey involved 420 female undergraduate students drawn using a multistage sampling technique, while a self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Univariate and bivariate analyses were applied to examine the factors associated with the use of emergency contraception.ResultsOf the 176 female students who reported being sexually active in the year preceding the survey, only 38.6% reported the use of condom during the entire year. Of those who reported unplanned pregnancy anxiety n = 94, about 30.1% used EC, 20.4% used non-EC pills as EC, while others reported having used no EC. A few respondents (n = 3) had terminated a pregnancy under unsafe conditions. Awareness of EC (p < 0.001), knowledge of timing of EC (p = 0.001), perceived risk of unplanned pregnancy (p < 0.001), and level of study (p = 0.013), were significantly correlated with the use of EC.ConclusionThe study revealed that educated youths engaged in high-risk sexual activities and also, sought recourse to unproven and unsafe contraceptive methods. Poor knowledge of EC methods and timing of use, as well as wrong perception about EC side effects, are barriers to the utilisation of EC for the prevention of unplanned pregnancy among the study participants.

Highlights

The vulnerabilities of young women of low socio-economic status and those with little or no formal education tend to dominate the discourse on unplanned pregnancy, unsafe abortion and emergency contraception (EC) in sub-Saharan Africa
Despite the abundance of studies on unplanned pregnancy and the fact that the high incidence remains a major public health concern worldwide [1], the dominant focus tends to be on the vulnerabilities of young women of low socio-economic status and those with little or no formal education [2, 3]
Even though there are variations in contraceptive use by age, socioeconomic status and location, available evidence suggests that contraceptive practice remains low in Sub-Saharan Africa irrespective of the context [10]

Summary

Introduction

The vulnerabilities of young women of low socio-economic status and those with little or no formal education tend to dominate the discourse on unplanned pregnancy, unsafe abortion and emergency contraception (EC) in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the abundance of studies on unplanned pregnancy and the fact that the high incidence remains a major public health concern worldwide [1], the dominant focus tends to be on the vulnerabilities of young women of low socio-economic status and those with little or no formal education [2, 3]. The consensus on the underlying reasons why the practice of contraception remains low in sub-Saharan Africa are health risks/side effects, opposition by the woman and/or partner, lack of resources, lack of awareness, lack of personal vulnerability and gender power issues (dislike of condoms) [11]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion