Factors associated with unintended pregnancy among women attending a public health facility in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Figures & data

Table 1: Participant demographics (n = 328)

Variables	Total n (%)
Age
Under 18 yrs	18 (6.2)
18–30 yrs	220 (74.8)
> 30 yrs	56 (19.0)
Marital status
Married/living together	53 (16.3)
Single	267 (81.9)
Divorced/separated/widowed/other	6 (1.8)
Contraception use	205 (75.4)
Ever consumed alcohol	109 (34.4)
Cigarette smoking	3 (0.95)
Recreational drug use	6 (1.94)
Currently employed	92 (29.3)
Household income
Less than 1 500	81 (63.8)
1 501 to 3 000	28 (22.0)
> 3 000	19 (15.0)
Recipient of a government grant	70 (37.9)
Level of education
None	9 (2.9)
Primary school	9 (2.9)
High school	228 (73.5)
Post school	64 (20.6)
HIV positive	63 (30.3)

Table 2: Demographic, psychosocial and pregnancy-related variables relative to intended and unintended pregnancy (n = 328)

Variables *	Intended n (%)	Unintended n (%)	p-value
Age			0.09
Under 18 yrs	4 (1.4)	14 (4.8)
18–30 yrs	72 (24.5)	148 (50.3)
> 30 yrs	26 (8.8)	30 (10.2)
*Marital status			< 0.001
Married/living together	32 (9.8)	21 (6.4)
Single	84 (25.8)	183 (56.1)
Divorced/separated/widowed/other	1 (0.3)	5 (1.5)
Contraception use	72 (26.5)	133 (48.9)	0.371
Reasons for not using contraception
*I didn’t mind if I got pregnant	63 (24.5)	28 (10.9)	< 0.001
*I thought I could not get pregnant at that time	14 (5.4)	80 (31.1)	< 0.001
I had side effects from the birth control method I was using	8 (3.1)	20 (7.8)	0.416
I had problems getting birth control when I needed it	0 (0.0)	4 (1.6)	0.301
I thought my husband/partner or I was sterile	2 (0.8)	3 (1.2)	1.000
My husband or partner didn’t want to use anything	2 (0.8)	5 (1.9)	1.000
Religious beliefs	0 (0.0)	2 (0.8)	0.540
Other	8 (3.1)	30 (11.7)	0.079
Use of home remedies to stop being pregnant	0 (0.0)	1 (0.5)	0.331
*Ever consumed alcohol	31 (9.8)	78 (24.6)	0.080
Alcohol use 3 months prior to pregnancy	16 (6.3)	33 (12.9)	0.744
Alcohol consumption while pregnant	6 (2.2)	5 (1.9)	0.210
Cigarette smoking	4 (1.4)	2 (0.8)	0.668
Recreational drug use	1 (0.35)	2 (0.8)	0.283
*Currently employed	42 (13.4)	50 (15.9)	0.020
Household income			0.122
Less than 1 500	26 (20.5)	55 (43.3)
1 501 to 3 000	10 (7.9)	18 (14.2)
> 3 000	11 (8.7)	8 (6.3)
Recipient of a government grant	21 (11.4)	49 (26.5)	0.271
Level of education			0.437
None	2 (0.6)	7 (2.3)
Primary school	2 (0.6)	7 (2.3)
High school	77 (24.8)	151 (48.7)
Post school	27 (8.7)	37 (11.9)
HIV positive	21 (10.1)	42 (20.2)	0.898

* p-value < 0.05; there were missing data for some of the variables.

Table 3: Multivariate logistic regression of unintended pregnancy by marital status, alcohol used during pregnancy and beneficiary of a government and/or child grant

Variable	Unintended pregnancy **
	OR	95% CI	p-value
Marital status
Married	1.00
*Single	3.73	1.82–7.62	< 0.001
Divorced	3.08	0.25–37.25	0.377
No alcohol use	1.00
Alcohol used prior to pregnancy	0.94	0.46–1.92	0.871
Alcohol during pregnancy	0.27	0.64–1.17	0.081
No grants	1.00
Government grants	1.24	0.62–2.47	0.549
Child grants	1.18	0.62–2.25	0.612

* Model adjusted for alcohol use before pregnancy and level of education.

** p-value < 0.05.