Prevalence of unmet need for contraception and its association with unwanted pregnancy among married women in Angola

BACKGROUND: Unmet need for contraception and unwanted pregnancy are recognised as significant barriers to promoting women’s reproductive health and well-being. Currently there is no research evidence on these two crucial indicators of reproductive care in Angola. Therefore, we conducted this study with the objectives of exploring the current prevalence of unmet need for contraception and unintended pregnancy as well as their relationship among married women in Angola. METHODS: This study was based on cross-sectional data from Angola Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) conducted in 2015–16. Participants were 7,808 married women aged 15–49 years. Unwanted pregnancy was measured in terms of the mistimed and unintended conception for the last-born child. Unmet need for contraception included those who reported unmet need for spacing and limiting. Data were analysed using bivariate and multivariable techniques. RESULTS: The combined prevalence of mistimed and unwanted pregnancy was 38.3% (95%CI = 35.9–40.7), and that of unmet need for contraception for spacing and limiting was 51.7% (49.9–53.5). Among the 18 regions, Luanda had the highest prevalence of unmet need for contraception and of unwanted pregnancy with the prevalence being higher than more than one-third of the women. Multivariable analysis significantly revealed a significantly positive association between unmet need and unwanted pregnancy. In all the models, the odds of unwanted pregnancy were found to be as high as four times among women with unmet need compared with those had no unmet need. Compared to women who had no unmet need, those who had unmet need had respectively four (OR = 4.380; 95%CI = 3.690–5.198) and seven (OR = 6.951; 95%CI = 4.642–10.410) times higher odds of experiencing unwanted pregnancy. CONCLUSION: This study concludes that the prevalence of unmet need for contraception and unwanted pregnancy are high with significant disparities across the regions. Women in the capital city had the highest prevalence of both unmet need for contraception and unwanted pregnancy. Although the data were cross-sectional and do not indicate causal relationships, the findings showed a strong positive association between unmet need for contraception and unwanted pregnancy. However, it is recommended to conduct further studies to replicate the findings and to explore the influence behavioural and cultural practices on unwanted pregnancy.