Symptom reporting in wanted and unwanted pregnancies.

This study examined the association between unwanted pregnancy and the reporting of pregnancy symptoms in a sample of 99 pregnant women drawn from an urban, medical school based family practice residency. Of these women, 51 had unwanted pregnancies, and 48 had wanted pregnancies. Women with wanted pregnancies were more likely than women with unwanted pregnancies to report three pregnancy symptoms (amenorrhea, breast tenderness, and morning sickness). This association of symptoms with a wanted pregnancy persisted after controlling for age, race, marital status, contraceptive use, menstrual irregularity, and days since last menses through multiple logistic regression. Findings suggest that symptoms may be underreported by women with unwanted pregnancies.