Factors associated with unintended pregnancy among women attending antenatal care in Maichew Town, Northern Ethiopia, 2017

OBJECTIVE: Unintended pregnancy is one of the most public health issues in the world, and it is the major sexual and reproductive health problem which carries a higher risk of morbidity and mortality for women, often due to unsafe abortion. Even though family planning services are effective and available than ever before, unintended pregnancy and unsafe abortion are the major public health problems in the study area. Therefore, this study aimed at assessing the magnitude and associated factors of unintended pregnancy among pregnant women attending antenatal care follow up in Maichew town, northern Ethiopia. An institution based cross-sectional study was conducted on 329 pregnant women selected with a systematic sampling technique from April 5 to May 4, 2017. RESULT: The magnitude of unintended pregnancy among pregnant women attending antenatal care in Maichew was found to be 29.7% (95% CI 24.30, 35.50). On the other hand, single in marital status (AOR = 38.6, 95% CI 10.07, 148.01), living alone (AOR = 9.9, 95% CI 1.80, 53.40) and having three or four children (AOR = 3.5, 95% CI 1.10, 11.04) were factors associated with an unintended pregnancy. Creating awareness about unintended pregnancy associated factors and implication of unintended pregnancy is highly recommended.