Unintended pregnancy and its correlates among currently pregnant women in the Kwango District, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
BACKGROUND
Unintended pregnancy is an important reproductive health problem in both developed and developing countries and is most prominent in low-middle income countries. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the total fertility rate is high at 5.9 births per women, and a mother's probabily of dying at an age between 15-49 years is also high (53 %). Women with unintended pregnancies are less likely to utilize available necessary services for their own health and the health of their children. Therefore, unintended pregnancy is a crucial factor of maternal health in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This study aims to identify the prevalence of unintended pregnancy and its associated factors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.


METHODS
Data were collected from June 20 to 29, 2014 among women aged 15-49 years who had children younger than 5 years old. The women were from a representative sample of 602 households. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the associations between the dependent variable and the explanatory variables.


RESULTS
Unintended pregnancy was reported in 51.4 % of the respondents. Multivariate logistic regression showed an association between education status (AOR, 3.4; CI, 1.21-9.90) and age of the last child (AOR, 5.17; CI, 1.23-21.70) with an unintended pregnancy. Unintended pregnancies were low among women who owner a cell phone (AOR, 0.18; CI, 0.47-0.73) and those who were aware of family planning method (AOR 0.20; CI, 0.06-0.60).


CONCLUSIONS
The unintended pregnancy rate high and was significantly associated with female education, previous use of family planning methods, ownership of cell phone, and age of the last child. Maternal health interventions should focus on increasing family planning service utilization, awareness of family planning, and access to communication and income.
Yonsei Global Health Center, Yonsei University, Wonju, Gangwon-do, Korea.|Department of Health Administration, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Wonju, Korea.|Institite for Poverty Alleviation and International Development (IPAID), Yonsei University, Wonju, Korea.
Sarita
S
Dhakal
Yonsei Global Health Center, Yonsei University, Wonju, Gangwon-do, Korea.|Department of Health Administration, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Wonju, Korea.
Jin Sung
JS
Song
Yonsei Global Health Center, Yonsei University, Wonju, Gangwon-do, Korea.|Department of Health Administration, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Wonju, Korea.
Dong Eun
DE
Shin
Yonsei Global Health Center, Yonsei University, Wonju, Gangwon-do, Korea.|Department of Health Administration, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Wonju, Korea.
Tae Ho
TH
Lee
Department of Nursing, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Wonju, Korea.
Ae Young
AY
So
Yonsei Global Health Center, Yonsei University, Wonju, Gangwon-do, Korea. ewnam@yonsei.ac.kr.|Department of Health Administration, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Wonju, Korea. ewnam@yonsei.ac.kr.|Institite for Poverty Alleviation and International Development (IPAID), Yonsei University, Wonju, Korea. ewnam@yonsei.ac.kr.
Eun Woo
EW
Nam
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo / Q000453:epidemiology; D004522:Educational Status; D005193:Family Planning Services / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D000068097:Maternal Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D018873:Pregnancy Rate; D049168:Pregnancy, Unplanned
DR Congo; Reproductive age women; Unintended pregnancy