Unintended pregnancy (Unplanned pregnancy)

Unintended pregnancies are pregnancies that are mistimed, unplanned or unwanted at the time of conception.

Approximately 80 million unintended pregnancies annually worldwide.

48% of women in the U.S. aged 15-44 have at least one unplanned pregnancy.

45% of pregnancies from 2008 to 2011 and 38% of births from 2017 to 2019 were unintended.

Rate of unintended pregnancies is 45%.

Nearly half of all US pregnancies are unplanned.

Each year, 43 million women, almost 70% of all reproductive-age females in the United States, are at risk for unplanned pregnancy.

Unintended pregnancy accounts for 36% of all pregnancies worldwide and nearly half of pregnancies in the US.

Unintended pregnancies rate is related to inconsistencies and lack of use of contraception.

Unintended pregnancies have significant negative impacts on individual and public health.

Sexual activity without the use of effective contraception through choice or coercion is the predominant cause of unintended pregnancy. 

Slightly more than 53% of unplanned pregnancies occur among women using contraception.

Results from incorrect or inconsistent use of contraception, but in some instances there are failures of the contraceptive method.

More than half of all unplanned or unintended pregnancies in the United States are a result of inconsistent or discontinued use of contraceptives (Trussell J).

Theoretically unintended pregnancy can be completely avoided by the use of contraceptives before or during sex.

Present contraceptives are highly efficacious and if used consistently over one year, hormonal methods and IUDs fail in at most 0.5% of women, and condoms in about 2%.

The majority of unintended pregnancies in the US occur among one third of women who use contraception inconsistently, incorrectly, or not at all (95%).

Emergency contraception allows a second chance to prevent pregnancy, after unprotected or inadequately protected sex.

Worldwide, the unintended pregnancy rate is approximately 45% of all pregnancies.

Unintended pregnancies are the main reason for induced abortions.

Unintended pregnancies may also result in other outcomes, such as live births or miscarriages.

Unplanned pregnancies are associated with increased risk of maternal and child morbidity and mortality and costs to families and society.

Approximately half of the 4 million annual births in the US result from unintended pregnancy.

Unintended pregnancy is linked to numerous poor maternal and child health outcomes, regardless of the outcome of the pregnancy.

Unintended pregnancy is defined as pregnancy that occurs either when a woman wanted to become pregnant in the future but not at the time she became pregnant, or one that occurred when she did not want to become pregnant then or at any time in the future.

An intended pregnancy is one that is consciously desired at the time of conception or sooner.

The global rate of unintended pregnancy has been slowly downtrending in most areas of the world.

Rates tend to be higher in low-income regions in Latin America and Africa, estimated at 96 and 89 unintended pregnancies per 1000 women, respectively, and lower in higher income regions such as North American and Europe, estimated at 47 and 41 unintended pregnancies per 1000 women, respectively.

Over 92% of abortions are the result of unintended pregnancy, and unintended pregnancies result in about 800,000 abortions/year.

It is estimated that more than half of US women have had an unintended pregnancy by age 45.

According to one study, over one-third of living people in the US under 31 years of age were the result of unintended pregnancies.

Younger women who are sexually active are less likely to use contraception than other age groups, and thus are more likely to have unintended pregnancies. 

Approximately 18% of young women aged 15–19 years old at risk of unintended pregnancy do not use contraception, compared with 13% of women aged 20–24 and 10% of women aged 25–44.

Unintended pregnancy rates are highest among sexually active women aged 15–19 years old compared to other age groups.

About one-third of unintended teen pregnancies end in abortion.

The unintended pregnancy rate among teens has been declining in the US. 

This decline is attributed to improved contraceptive use among sexually active teens, rather than changes in sexual activity.

In the US, women who are unmarried but live with their partners, cohabiting, have a higher rate of unintended pregnancy compared with both unmarried noncohabiting women (141 vs. 36–54 per 1,000) and married women (29 per 1,000).

Poverty and lower income increases a woman’s risk of unintended pregnancy. 

Unintended pregnancy rates among women with incomes less than 100% of the poverty line was more than five times higher than the rate among women with incomes of at least or greater than 200% of poverty.

In the US, women who identify as racial minorities are at increased risk of unintended pregnancy. 

The unintended pregnancy rate for Black women is more than double that of white women (79 versus 33 per 1,000).

Women without a high school degree have the highest unintended pregnancy rate among any educational level.

Unintended pregnancy rates decreased with each level of educational attainment.

Sexual coercion, rape, or even forced pregnancy may be associated with unintended pregnancy.

These events sometimes happen with domestic violence. 

Unintended pregnancies are more likely to be associated with abuse than intended pregnancies.

The estimated rape rate and secondary unwanted pregnancies is estimated at over 32,000 cases per year. 

On average, unintended pregnancies that are carried to term result in poorer outcomes for the pregnant woman and for the child than do intended pregnancies: associated with adverse maternal and infant outcomes: higher odds of maternal depression during pregnancy and postpartum, maternal experience of interpersonal violence, preterm birth, and infant low birth weight.

With  unintended pregnancies with preexisting medical comorbidities such as diabetes or autoimmune disease may not have optimized control of these conditions before becoming pregnant.

Patients on teratogenic drugs, may not have the opportunity to change to a non-teratogenic drug regimen before an unintended conception. 

Unintended pregnancy may preclude chance to resolve sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

Untreated STDs maybe be associated with premature delivery or later infection of the newborn.

Patients with unintended pregnancies may miss the opportunities for genetic testing of the fetus in the second trimester, which can identify abnormal fetuses and may be used in the decision to continue or terminate the pregnancy.

Women with an unintended pregnancy are more likely to develop depression during or after pregnancy, are at increased risk of physical violence

and report feeling greater relationship instability.

Women with unintended pregnancies are more likely to smoke tobacco, and drink alcohol during pregnancy, and binge drink during pregnancy.

Unintended pregnancies are more likely to delivery prematurely, and have a greater likelihood of low birth weight, particularly for unwanted pregnancies.

Unintended pregnancies have been associated with lower mother–child relationship quality.

Women who deliver unintended pregnancies are less likely to breastfeed.

Children born of unintended pregnancies have higher risk of child abuse and neglect.

Children born of unintended pregnancies less likely to succeed in school, and have with lower test scores, are more likely to live in poverty and need public assistance, and more likely to have delinquent and criminal behavior.

Unintended pregnancies may result in an adoption of the infant.

, where the biological parents (or birth parents) transfer their privileges and responsibilities to the adoptive parents. 

Birth parents transfer their privileges and responsibilities to the adoptive parents, and choose  adoption when they do not wish to parent the current pregnancy and they prefer to carry the pregnancy to term rather than ending the pregnancy through an abortion.

In the United States, 135,000 children are adopted each year which represents about 3% of all live births. 

The 2010 census indicated there  were 1,527,020 adopted children in the United States, representing 2.5 percent of all U.S. children.

Two forms of adoptions exist: open adoptions and closed adoptions. 

In an open adoption the birth parents are allowed to know and have contact with the adoptive parents and the adopted child.

In a closed adoption, there is no contact between the birth parents and adoptive parents: and information identifying the adoptive parents and the birth parents is not shared. 

Non-identifying information about background and medical information about the birth parents will be shared with the adoptive parents.

Voluntary termination of pregnancy, is one of the primary consequences of unintended pregnancy.

A large proportion of induced abortions worldwide are due to unwanted or mistimed pregnancy.

Unintended pregnancies result in about 42 million induced abortions per year worldwide.

In the United States, approximately 42% off all unintended pregnancies ended in abortion.

Over 92% of abortions are the result of unintended pregnancy.

The U.S. states with the highest levels of abortions performed were Delaware, New York and New Jersey, with rates of 40, 38 and 31 per 1,000 women, respectively. 

High rates were also seen in the states of Maryland, California, Florida, Nevada and Connecticut with rates of 25 to 29 per 1,000 women. 

The state with the lowest abortion rate was Wyoming, which had less than 1 per 1,000 women, followed by Mississippi, Kentucky, South Dakota, Idaho and Missouri with rates of 5 to 6 abortions per 1,000 women.

Abortion carries few health risks when performed in accordance with modern medical technique.

Where abortion is legal, it has lower morbidity and mortality for the pregnant woman than childbirth.

Where safe abortions are not available, abortion can contribute significantly to maternal mortality and morbidity.

Abortion may cause some individuals psychological distress, some find a reduction in distress after abortion.

There is no evidence of widespread psychological harm from abortion.

It is estimated that 52% of unintended pregnancies result from couples not using contraception in the month the woman got pregnant.

 43% of unintended pregnancies result from inconsistent or incorrect contraceptive use.

Only 5% result from contraceptive failure(Guttmacher Institute).

Increasing use of long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) (such as IUD and contraceptive implants) decreases the chance of unintended pregnancy by decreasing the chance of incorrect use.

Contraceptive method failure is relatively rare with modern, highly effective contraceptives, and is much more of an issue when such methods are unavailable or not used. 

Available contraception methods include:  birth control pills, a condom, intrauterine device, contraceptive implant (Implanon or Nexplanon), hormonal patch, hormonal ring, cervical caps, diaphragms, spermicides, or sterilization.

People choose to use a contraceptive method based on: efficacy, medical considerations, side effects, convenience, availability, others  experiences, and religious views.

It is encouraged for  men and women to formulate a reproductive life plan, to help them in avoiding unintended pregnancies and to improve the health of women and reduce adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Providing contraceptives and family planning services at low or no cost to the user helps prevent unintended pregnancies. 

Family planning services improve the health of the population and saves money for governments and health insurers by reducing medical, education, and other costs to society.

Without publicly funded family planning services, it is estimated the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions in the United States would be nearly two-thirds higher among women overall and among teens, and the number of unintended pregnancies among lower-class women would nearly double.

Women who have an unintended pregnancy are more likely to have subsequent unplanned pregnancies.