28M U.S. Women At Risk Of Unintended Pregnancy, Guttmacher Report Finds

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Pregnancy / Obstetrics;  Sexual Health / STDs
Article Date: 14 May 2008 - 5:00 PDT

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About 28 million women in the U.S. are at risk of an unintended pregnancy annually because of incorrect or inconsistent contraceptive use, according to a study released Tuesday by the Guttmacher Institute, Reuters reports. Guttmacher researchers surveyed women and providers of family planning services nationwide (Reuters, 5/13).

The researchers conducted a telephone survey in 2004 of 1,978 randomly selected women ages 18 to 44 who were "at risk" of unintended pregnancy -- defined as not being pregnant or seeking pregnancy, being able to become pregnant and having had heterosexual intercourse in the past year. The study found that over a one-year period, half of the women at risk were "adequately protected from unintended pregnancy through consistent and correct contraceptive use." Nearly 25% of the women were at "high risk" of having an unintended pregnancy because of a gap in contraception use, the report found. According to the report, 8% of the women surveyed used no contraceptives during the entire year, 15% went at least one month without using contraceptives, and 27% used their method inconsistently or incorrectly (Guttmacher report, May 2008).

The researchers found that more than half of the women who had at least a one-month gap in contraceptive use had experienced a major life event, such as the end of a relationship, move, job change or personal crisis. The researchers also partially attributed the gap in contraceptive use to a lack of access to health care. Many women said they could not afford birth control (Reuters, 5/13).

In addition, the report found that about four in 10 women were not satisfied with their contraceptive method and, therefore, were more likely to skip birth control pills or have other contraceptives, such as condoms, readily available. About 25% of women who used contraceptives inconsistently said they would be pleased if they became pregnant (Guttmacher release, 5/13). Women who were less motivated to avoid pregnancy were less likely to use contraceptives consistently, according to the report.

Conclusions, Comments

The researchers concluded that a woman's attitude about pregnancy, satisfaction with her contraceptive method, and experiences with gynecologists and other family planning providers played a larger role in her risk of unintended pregnancy than other risk factors, such as education and poverty. Jennifer Frost, a senior research associate at Guttmacher, said that physicians and other health providers should help women find the best contraceptive method to help avoid unintended pregnancy.

Frost added that it is "critical to have a better understanding of what is preventing women from using contraception consistently and correctly, or even at all." She added that "the more" family planning providers "can remove the remaining barriers to consistent use, the better [they] will be at ensuring that all women can avoid unwanted pregnancies and plan the children they want, when they want them" (Reuters, 5/13).

The report is available online (.pdf).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

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