Almost half (49%) of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended: There were 3.1 million in 2001 alone, the last year for which data are available [1]. There has been no change in the recent past; these statistics were the same in 1994 [2]. One of every two women aged 15–44 in the United States has experienced at least one unintended pregnancy [2]. What is responsible for the unacceptab...

Recent research has shown that 82% of adolescent pregnancies are unintended. Social marketing has potential to reduce unintended adolescent pregnancy but its effectiveness in this area has not been thoroughly evaluated. This article reviews the literature on social marketing and assesses its potential to reduce unintended adolescent pregnancy. We identified five communication principles as rele...

Half of all pregnancies in Canada are unintended. Whether a pregnancy is intended or unintended has a bearing on the risk of prenatal alcohol exposure. Research indicates that women who experience an unintended pregnancy are significantly more likely to consume alcohol while pregnant. Most fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) prevention frameworks in Canada have adopted a mid-stream approach ...

BACKGROUND It has been estimated that each year 80 million women in the world experience an unintended pregnancy. In Ecuador, recent research has revealed that 36.3% of total births are unintended; the research also details significant geographical, ethnic and socioeconomic variations. These studies focused on individual risk factors and were based on large national surveys where local samples,...

CONTEXT Though contraceptive failure and induced abortion in China have both attracted research attention, the somewhat broader topic of unintended pregnancy has been neglected. METHODS A total of 7,872 newly married couples, enrolled between 1987 and 1988, were followed up until 1994-1995; only 2% were lost to follow-up. During face-to-face interviews, background and fertility-related data w...

BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY Emergency hormonal contraception (EHC) can reduce unintended pregnancy and the associated costs and consequences for the individual and National Health Service (NHS). Levonorgestrel (LNG 1.5 mg) is currently the standard of care in the UK; however, it is not licensed for use >72 hours after unprotected sexual intercourse (UPSI). This cost-effectiveness analysis compar...

Unintended pregnancy rates typically include all women in the denominator. This understates adolescent rates because many adolescents are not sexually active. When rates are recalculated including only sexually active people, adolescents aged 15-19 years have the highest rates, arguing for a continued focus on adolescents in efforts to reduce unintended pregnancy.

Family Planning Perspectives Unintended pregnancies occur all too commonly in the United States. Although their impact on individual women or couples varies, such pregnancies have been linked to a number of social and health problems, such as poor birth outcomes.1 However, despite the frequency and the consequences of unintended pregnancy, its definition—and therefore its measurement—remains el...

BACKGROUND Prevention of unintended pregnancies among women living with HIV infection is a strategy recommended by the World Health Organization for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT). We assessed pregnancy intentions and contraceptive use among HIV-positive and HIV-negative women with a recent pregnancy in Zimbabwe. METHODS We analyzed baseline data from the evaluation...

BACKGROUND We aimed to investigate the risk factors associated with unintended pregnancies as well as the association between unintended pregnancies and potential teratogenic exposures. METHODS A cross-sectional survey was performed among women attending the Maternity School of the Samsung Cheil Hospital and Women's Health Care Center in Seoul, Korea. Demographic data, obstetric history, soci...