title: Are Pregnancy Intentions Associated with Transitions Into and Out of Marriage?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In addition to having associations with health outcomes, pregnancy intentions may be associated with social outcomes, including marital transitions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Linked data from the 2004-2008 Oklahoma Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System and The Oklahoma Toddler Survey for 2006-2010 on 3,617 women who were married and 2,123 who were unmarried at conception were used to examine the relationship between pregnancy intention status (intended, mistimed by less than two years, mistimed by two or more years, or unwanted) and marital formation or dissolution by the time of the birth and two years later. Logistic regression analyses were conducted, and propensity score methods were used to adjust for confounding characteristics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Intention status was associated with marital transition two years after the birth, but not between conception and birth. In adjusted models, among women married at conception, those with a birth resulting from an unwanted pregnancy were more likely than those with a birth resulting from an intended pregnancy to transition out of marriage by the time their child was two years old (odds ratio, 2.2). Among women unmarried at conception, those with a birth following an unwanted pregnancy were less likely than those with a birth following an intended pregnancy to marry by the time their child was two (0.5). Births following mistimed pregnancies were not associated with marital transition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings should motivate researchers to broaden the scope of research on the consequences of unintended childbearing. Future research should distinguish between mistimed and unwanted births.
authors.affiliation: Guttmacher Institute, New York. imaddowzimet@guttmacher.org.
authors.forename: Isaac
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Maddow-Zimet
authors.affiliation: Guttmacher Institute, New York.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lindberg
authors.affiliation: Guttmacher Institute, New York.
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kost
authors.affiliation: Oklahoma Department of Health, Oklahoma City.
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lincoln
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D017533:Marital Status / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D011275:Pregnancy, Unwanted / Q000523:psychology*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology