Family Planning (FP) Counseling occurs when health care providers inform clients about their family planning options and help them make informed decisions regarding their reproductive wants and needs. Women who are living with HIV, like all women, have reproductive rights. As stipulated in the United Nations’ Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, all women,...

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...

CONTEXT Given levels of unintended pregnancy and STDs, an effective counseling intervention is needed to improve women's consistent use of effective prevention methods. METHODS A sample of 764 women aged 16-44 who were at risk of unintended pregnancy were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial in North Carolina in 2003-2004. Intervention participants received pregnancy and STD prevention c...

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to determine if nonprescription emergency contraception (EC) availability impacted self-reported unintended pregnancy rates and to assess women's knowledge and awareness of EC prior to and after nonprescription availability. METHODS A survey regarding contraception use and knowledge was verbally administered to a cross-sectional, convenience sample of 272 pregnant w...

CONTEXT Studies published to date provide mixed evidence on the relationship between unintended pregnancy and preterm birth, and none take into consideration that the meaning of unintended pregnancy may vary across racial and ethnic groups. METHODS Data from the 1999-2003 rounds of the Maternal and Infant Health Assessment, a population-based, representative survey of postpartum women in Cali...

The knowledge of important biopsychosocial factors linking women's reproductive health and mental health is increasing. This review focuses on psychological aspects of contraception, unintended pregnancy, and abortion because these are common reproductive health experiences in U.S. women's lives. This review addresses the mental-health antecedents and consequences of these experiences, mostly f...

BACKGROUND The underuse of effective contraceptive methods by women at risk for unintended pregnancy is a major factor contributing to the high rate of unintended pregnancy in the United States. As health care providers are important contributors to women's contraceptive use, this study was conducted to assess provider knowledge about contraception. STUDY DESIGN Bivariate and multivariate ana...

Unintended pregnancy and unsafe abortion are common in Kenya, leading to high levels unplanned births and avoidable maternal injury and death. Until recently, abortion was only legally permissible to save the life of a woman, but a new constitution adopted in 2010 includes language that makes abortion available to protect a woman's health.

BACKGROUND Research into the impact of unintended pregnancy on the wellbeing of women tends to focus on pregnancies ending in either termination or lone motherhood. Unintended pregnancy is common in partnered women, but little is known about the association between unintended pregnancy and postpartum affective disorders, such as depression and anxiety in this group. Poor relationship quality an...

Thank you for publishing Dr Rank’s report of an unintended pregnancy with a subdermal implant following a miscarriage.1 While I agree with much of Dr Melvin’s response on behalf of the Clinical Effectiveness Unit,2 I think fundamentally the case highlights that continued reliance on apparent menstrual dates is fl awed. Ultrasound dating of pregnancy has provided strong evidence that menstrual d...