Prevalence of Unwanted Pregnancy among Iranian Women: Systematic Review and Meta - analysis

Abstract

Background and Objective: Unwanted pregnancy as a health problem can endanger the mother and baby. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of unwanted pregnancy among Iranian women. Materials and Methods: This study was performed using a systematic literature review and meta-analysis. Seven electronic databases and two search engines were searched using appropriate key words to identify empirical research studies published in Persian and English languages on NIs from April 2000 to March 2019 in Iran. Heterogeneity of study was checked using I2 index and the possibility of publication bias by Begg test and Meta regression for assessment of variables suspected of heterogeneity at significance level of 0.05. Finally 65 empirical studies were reviewed. Results: The pooled prevalence of overall unwanted pregnancy in Iranian hospitals was 52 % (95% confidence interval, 41% - 67%). The highest unwanted pregnancy was recorded in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad in 2000, 88% (95% CI: 65%-100%) and the lowest unwanted pregnancy was 0/01% in some cities of country in 2015 (95% Cl: 0/01%-0/02%).Year, sample size and mean age were correlated with heterogeneity of study results (p<0.05). Conclusion: The prevalence of unwanted pregnancy in Iranian hospitals is high according to the published studies. Therefore, education is needed to empower couples to gain adequate control over their pregnancy.

Keywords

• prevalence
• unwanted pregnancy
• systematic review
• meta-analysis