Determinants of Unintended Pregnancy among Women of Reproductive Age in Developing Countries: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Background & aim: Thecurrent population of the world is seven billion, and developing countries account for its 97%. Approximately 210 million pregnancies annually occur worldwide and 75-80 million of them are reported to be unintended. Multiple factors can contribute to unintended pregnancy, which need to be assessed to design interventions reducing the incidence of unintended pregnancies.This study aimed to identify the determinants of unintended pregnancy among women of reproductive age in developing countries. Methods:This review of the literature was carried out by retrieving articles from various databases such as PubMed, Google scholar, and Science Direct and using mesh terms and phrases including ‘unintended pregnancy’, ‘contraception’, and ‘determinants of unintended pregnancy’. The reviewed studies included descriptive studies, population council reports, demographic and health survey reports, the United Nations Children's Fund statistics, and the World Health Organization reports. Results: The most common determinants of unintended pregnancy in the literature were reported under the headings of sociodemographic, socioeconomic, sociocultural, fertility related, contraceptive methods, and access related factors. Conclusion: Multiple factors can predict unintended pregnancy, and these findings have significant policy implications. Policymakers and healthcare providers can benefit from the evidence on determinants of unwanted pregnancy to design and implement policies and programs that can support couples to have their desired number of children, without facing unnecessary threats to their health. Furthermore, more studies are needed to be done in future to assess the available cost-effective interventions for reducing unintended pregnancy and ultimately, to improve women’s and children’s health.

Keywords

• Contraception
• Determinants
• Unintended pregnancy