This paper assesses the relationship between unintended pregnancy--both unwanted and mistimed and several dimensions of use of prenatal care among women in Ecuador, where the level of unintended pregnancy has risen considerably in recent years. Data were collected from a nationally representative sample of 3988 women interviewed in the 1994 Demographic and Maternal-Child Health Survey. Multivar...

OBJECTIVE In this contribution unintended pregnancies are studied as a multidimensional concept from a life-course perspective. Standardized data on the prevalence of unwanted pregnancies in different stages of women's life course are combined with a qualitative analysis of the subjective meaning of "unwanted" and of subjective explanations of getting pregnant unintentionally. METHODS The stu...

OBJECTIVES To determine whether contraceptive discontinuation is associated with pregnancies that are conceived earlier than desired (mistimed) or are not wanted at the time of conception (unwanted). METHODS Data were obtained from the 2002 Guatemala National Maternal and Child Health Survey. Pregnancies within the three years prior to and at the time of the survey (April 1999-November 2002) ...

Despite decades of research on unintended pregnancies, we know little about the health implications for the women who experience them. Moreover, no study has examined the implications for women whose pregnancies occurred before Roe v. Wade was decided--nor whether the mental health consequences of these unintended pregnancies continue into later life. Using the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, a 6...

Malawian women in all sectors of society are suffering from social implications of unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion. Unwanted pregnancies occur among women who have limited access to family planning and safe abortion. A legally restrictive setting for safe abortion services leads many women to unsafe abortion, which has consequences for them and their families. In-depth interviews were co...

Women with unwanted pregnancies may be at elevated child abuse risk, although ineffective coping styles are associated with both child abuse potential and unwanted pregnancy. The present study investigated whether coping style mediated the association between low desire for pregnancy and physical child abuse potential. A sample of 77 expectant mothers participated in an online parenting study. ...