Factors associated with unwanted pregnancy.

The purpose of this study was to estimate the proportion of unwanted pregnancies (UWPs) and related factors among mothers delivering at all hospitals in Tehran. We investigated, in cross-sectional study 6,394 clients, parental age, education and occupation, interval of live children pregnancies, and rate of abortion. A Chi-square test and Hi-Log linear were used in this study. In this study, 2,443 (38.2%) of all cases were UWPs, of which 4.6% (n = 297) resorted to abortion (p < 0.0001). About 38% of all women had no prenatal care. Seventeen percent of the women under 20 and 66.2% of those above age 35 had had UWPs (p < 0.0001). Forty-one percent (n = 2,640) of all cases were illiterate or had primary education and 28% (n = 1,793) had a high school education or higher (p < 0.0001). Forty-seven percent (n = 18) of mothers were workers and 28.1% (n = 147) were employees (p < 0.0001). Although such variables as age, occupation, level of education, prenatal care, family size, and pregnancy interval affect rates of unwanted pregnancy in developing countries, regardless of the cause unwanted pregnancy and its negative consequences can be prevented by access to health services.