Magnitude and Predictors of Unplanned Pregnancy among Married Women in Rwanda
Background: Unplanned pregnancy leads to ill health during pregnancy and perinatal complications. Despite this, there is limited research on the magnitude and redictors of unplanned pregnancy, especially among married women. This study, therefore, aims to determine the magnitude and predictors of unplanned pregnancy
among married women in Rwanda.
Methodology: The descriptive cross-sectional study design was used. Interview-administrated structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 383 pregnant legally married women. They were selected using multistage sampling method. First 4 health centers out of 10 were selected using simple random sampling then
pregnant women were selected randomly according to probability proportion to size. Approval to conduct the study was obtained from Mount Kenya university Ethical review committee. Data were analyzed through SPSS version 20; logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate predictors of unplanned pregnancy among married women.
Results: The prevalence of unplanned pregnancy was 30.8% and 72.9% of reported unplanned pregnancy was mistimed. In crude odd ratio, the findings showed that respondents who got married between 21-24 years were four times more likely to experience unplanned pregnancy compared to those who married at the age
of 25 years and more. Being married for more than 11 years was a significant predictor of unplanned pregnancy. In adjusted analysis, women with no formal ducation/primary education remained at higher risk of unplanned pregnancy (AOR=11.56, 95%CI: 1.918-69.721, p=0.008). Christian women had lower risk of unplanned pregnancy when compared to Muslims (AOR=0.07, 95%CI: 0.009-2.580, p=0.012). Married women who experienced an abortion or miscarried were at lower risk of unplanned pregnancy (AOR=0.12, 95%CI: 0.031-0.465, p=0.002).
Conclusion: The prevalence of unplanned pregnancy was high among married women hence efforts should be put into places targeting this group.
