Department of Statistical Methods and Actuarial Science, School of Statistics & Planning, College of Business and Management Sciences, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.
Department of Population Studies, School of Statistics & Planning, College of Business and Management Sciences, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.
J Health Popul Nutr. 2020 Dec 7;39(1):15. doi: 10.1186/s41043-020-00218-7.
Unintended pregnancies are no longer bound to teenagers or school-going children, married women in Uganda, as well do experience such pregnancies though little has been investigated on them. This study examines the determinants of unintended pregnancies among currently married women in Uganda.
In this study, we used data from the 2016 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) which comprised of 10,958 married women aged 15-49 years who have ever been pregnant. The analysis was done using descriptive analysis, logistic regression, and the generalized structural equation model.
The study showed that 37% of pregnancies among married women were unintended. Young women, living in poor households, staying in rural areas, women in the Eastern and Northern region, Muslim women, lack of knowledge on ovulation period, discontinuation of contraceptives, non-use of and intention for contraceptives, high age at sexual debut, high age at first birth, and high parity were directly associated with a higher risk of unintended pregnancies. Relatedly, discontinuation of contraceptives regardless of the place of residence, region, woman's age, education, household wealth, access to family planning messages were associated with higher odds of unintended pregnancies. Older women and those in rural areas who had more children were also at a higher risk of similar pregnancies. However, having more children while using contraceptives, being educated, living in a wealthier household, and having access to family planning messages significantly lowered the risk of unintended pregnancies.
Increased access to family planning messages, empowering women as well as having improved household incomes are key preventive measures of unintended pregnancies. There is a need to provide quality contraceptive counseling through outreaches so that women are informed about the different contraceptive methods and the possible side effects. Having a variety of contraceptive methods to choose from and making them accessible and affordable will also encourage women to make informed choices and reduce contraceptive discontinuation. All these coupled together will help women have their desired family sizes, increase the uptake of contraceptives and significantly reduce unintended pregnancies.
意外怀孕不再局限于青少年或在校儿童，乌干达已婚妇女也会经历此类怀孕，尽管对此类怀孕的研究甚少。本研究旨在探讨乌干达已婚妇女意外怀孕的决定因素。
本研究使用了 2016 年乌干达人口与健康调查（UDHS）的数据，该调查包含了 10958 名年龄在 15-49 岁之间曾经怀孕的已婚妇女。分析采用描述性分析、逻辑回归和广义结构方程模型进行。
研究表明，已婚妇女中 37%的怀孕是意外的。年轻妇女、生活在贫困家庭、居住在农村地区、居住在东部和北部地区、穆斯林妇女、缺乏排卵知识、停止使用避孕药具、不使用和打算使用避孕药具、初次性行为年龄较大、初次生育年龄较大、生育次数较多，与意外怀孕的风险增加直接相关。此外，无论居住地点、地区、妇女年龄、教育程度、家庭财富、获取计划生育信息如何，停止使用避孕药具与意外怀孕的风险增加相关。年龄较大的妇女和农村地区的妇女，生育的孩子越多，意外怀孕的风险也越高。然而，在使用避孕药具的情况下生育更多的孩子、接受教育、生活在更富裕的家庭以及获取计划生育信息，可显著降低意外怀孕的风险。
增加获得计划生育信息的机会、增强妇女权能以及提高家庭收入是预防意外怀孕的关键措施。需要通过外展活动提供优质的避孕药具咨询服务，使妇女了解不同的避孕方法和可能的副作用。提供各种可供选择的避孕方法，并使这些方法易于获得且负担得起，也将鼓励妇女做出知情选择，减少避孕药具的停用。所有这些措施结合在一起，将有助于妇女实现其期望的家庭规模，增加避孕药具的使用，并显著降低意外怀孕的风险。
