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ABSTRACT
Objectives To investigate the occurrence of unwanted pregnancies among renal transplant recipients and to identify major contributing factors.
Methods A total of 647 women of childbearing age who had received a renal transplant at one of the five participating hospitals in China were enrolled in the study and administered a questionnaire that collected information on their reproductive health, pregnancies, and awareness and use of contraceptive methods.
Results Of the 647 eligible patients, 98 (15%) reported 133 unwanted pregnancies post-transplantation. In this group (n = 98), despite an awareness of the available contraceptive measures, 56% had not applied any method of contraception, while 20% had relied on the rhythm method, and in only 12% of the cases male condoms had been used. The most common reason for not using contraception was a failure to realise that their reproductive function had been restored to normal soon after transplantation (19%).
Conclusion In female renal transplant recipients, unprotected sex combined with incorrect judgment about their own reproductive potential post-transplantation were the major causes of unwanted pregnancies. The latter could be avoided through counselling about the risk pregnancy entails and the implementation of appropriate contraceptive measures.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study was supported by Zhejiang Provincial Medical and Health Project (No. 2009A182) and Hangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Project (No. 20090833B22).
Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.