Do Unplanned Pregnancies Have an Effect on Pregnancy Complications in a Rural Population Of South Africa?

Akeem T. Ketlogetswe, University of the Witwatersrand

The problem of unplanned-pregnancy continues to be a burden in many countries in the sub-Saharan Africa region. Women who have unplanned-pregnancy face significantly more hurdles which subsequently increase risk of pregnancy complications and both maternal and child mortality. The aim was to determine the association of unplanned pregnancies and pregnancy complications in the Agincourt Health and Demographic Surveillance Site (AHDSS) South Africa. Secondary data from the AHDSS database were used to examine the relationship using logistic regression in 10,225 single pregnancies that occurred between 01 January 1998 and 31 December 2002. Unplanned pregnancies for the entire period was 3,898(50.19%) and 2,458(24.04%) pregnancies had missing information. Results suggest that unplanned-pregnancies increased the likelihood of pregnancy complications. Factors that were protective against pregnancy complications were antenatal clinic attendance, mother’s age and not being a first time mother. In contrast, women with post secondary education were more likely to have pregnancy complications