determinants of accepting unintended pregnancies by ukrainian women: results of a 2007 survey

BACKGROUND. In Ukraine, much public attention is given to adolescent girls and young women as a main ‘risk group’ for terminating an unplanned pregnancy in case it occurs. The objective of the study was to clarify whether this concern is substantiated.METHODS. Data from a nationally representative Demographic and Health Survey on women of reproductive age were used to examine the relationship of pregnancy order number, age when a woman became pregnant and her marital status to accepting unintended pregnancy. A subsample of 517 women having been pregnant within five years preceding the interview were divided into non-acceptors (unintended pregnancy was terminated) and acceptors (pregnancy ended with live birth though was unintended at the time of conception). Independent variables included pregnancy- and childbearing-related, socio-demographic, and behavioral characteristics. Odds ratios were calculated using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS. Controlling for all other factors, being 23 years and younger compared to 24-37 years old was positively associated with accepting an unintended pregnancy. With every next pregnancy, odds of accepting an unintended pregnancy decreased by 0.6. Being married compared to being unmarried was negatively associated with accepting an unintended pregnancy in bivariate analysis, which was attenuated in multivariate analysis because of predominance of the first pregnancies among never married women. Furthermore, women from all other regions of Ukraine compared to women from Western regions were less likely to accept an unintended pregnancy, and so did women of Christian Orthodox and no religion compared to women of other religions. CONCLUSIONS. Attention of public health programs and policies should be paid to the women with children, whose needs in reliable contraceptive methods are not met. Post-delivery contraceptive consultations may be a great tool in overcoming this gap. In addition, women from non-Western regions are at greater risks of terminating an unintended pregnancy.