Does unwanted pregnancy lead to adverse health and healthcare utilization for mother and child? Evidence from low- and middle-income countries.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Unwanted pregnancy is an important public health concern in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Using a pooled dataset from 48 Demographic Health Surveys conducted in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe (n = 494,778), we examined the effect of unwanted pregnancy on maternal and child healthcare utilization and child health outcomes in LMICs.

Methods

We used logistic regression models to estimate the effect of unwanted pregnancy on antenatal care use, supervised delivery, childhood vaccination and three indicators of child health, viz. stunting (height-for-age), underweight (weight-for-age) and wasting (weight-for-height).

Results

We found that mothers of children whose pregnancies had been unwanted had a lower probability of attending four or more

SUBMITTER: Hajizadeh M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7275006 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature