• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Download full size image

28 Million Women At Risk for Unplanned Pregnancy

Posted on: Wednesday, 14 May 2008, 00:45 CDT

Researchers from Guttmacher Institute in New York said Tuesday that improper contraceptive use will result in unintended pregnancy for half the women who do not wish to conceive.

The researchers found that one in four women are very likely to become pregnant due to inconsistent or improper use of contraceptives, which will result in 28 million women at risk for unplanned pregnancy.  

Part of the issue is a lack of health care access, with many women unable to afford some of the more effective methods of contraception such as birth control pills that require a doctor's visit and prescription.

"It is critical to have a better understanding of what is preventing women from using contraception consistently and correctly, or even at all," Dr. Jennifer Frost, a senior research associate at Guttmacher, said in statement to Reuters.

Frost and her team performed research that involved surveys of women and family planning facilities across the country.   They discovered that more than 50 percent of women who had at least a one month gap in contraceptive use had experienced a major life event, such as a move, a job change, the end of a relationship or other personal crisis.

The research also found that many women are not happy with their current method of contraception, which can sometimes lead a woman to skip taking her birth control pills or fail to keep a condom handy.

The National Center for Health Statistics reported last month that in 2004 there were 6.4 million pregnancies, 1.06 million stillbirths and miscarriages, and 1.22 million abortions . The number of pregnancies represented a 6 percent decrease from 1990, and forty-five percent of the pregnancies were to women who were not married.  

The researchers also found that many women who are lax about birth control are simply ambivalent about pregnancy prevention. In fact, these women reported that they would be very pleased if they became pregnant.

According to the researchers, women who were the least motivated to avoid pregnancy were far less likely to use any contraceptive method on a consistent basis.

The research team reported that a woman's attitude toward pregnancy, her happiness with her contraceptive method and her experiences with gynecologists and other providers of contraception play a much larger role in the risk of pregnancy than other major factors such as poverty and education.

"The more we can remove the remaining barriers to consistent use, the better we will be at ensuring that all women can avoid unwanted pregnancies and plan the children they want, when they want them," Frost said, advising doctors and other health providers to help women to find the best contraceptive method for them.

---

On the Net:

Guttmacher Institute

National Center for Health Statistics

Source: redOrbit Staff and Wire Reports

More News in this Category