title: Unwanted pregnancies involving young women and men in a New Zealand birth cohort.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the circumstances of wanted and unwanted pregnancies before age 25 years for both women and men, and compare the circumstances of the most undesired pregnancies with all others.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study within a birth cohort using a computer-presented questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 477 women, 173 (36%) had been pregnant before age 25 years, and experienced 289 pregnancies of which 173 (60%) were unwanted. Of the 489 men, 142 (29%) reported 225 pregnancies before age 25, of which 165 (73%) were unwanted. By age 25 about a quarter of the study members (27% of women and 24% of men), had been involved in at least one unwanted pregnancy. Wantedness increased with age and length of relationship with the other parent; both factors remained significant in multivariate analysis for men, but not age for women. For women unwanted pregnancies were more likely to be due to non-use of contraception than failure. For both women and men the commonest single reason for not using contraception was not thinking about it, followed by alcohol use.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An environment has emerged for men and women in their twenties in New Zealand where most are sexually active but do not want a pregnancy to occur. To delay pregnancy for a prolonged period requires dedication and commitment to effective contraception. While more attention needs to be paid to promotion of effective use of contraception, more understanding is called for over the difficulties of avoiding pregnancy with long-term reversible contraception. A further approach to the problem of unwanted pregnancies which should be investigated is to encourage committed sexual relationships.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Otago Medical School, Dunedin. ndickson@gandalf.otago.ac.nz
authors.forename: Nigel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dickson
authors.forename: Meg
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Herbison
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Paul
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D003267:Contraception / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005193:Family Planning Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009520:New Zealand; D011247:Pregnancy; D011275:Pregnancy, Unwanted / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*