Unintended Pregnancy in the High Contraceptive Context of Tehran, Iran: The Role of Contraceptive Failure

Amir Erfani, Nipissing University

Unintended pregnancy has adverse health outcomes for the women and children in Iran, where abortion is illegal. Using data from the 2009 Tehran Survey of Fertility, this study examines determinants of pregnancy intentions of the most recent birth, utilizing multinomial logistic models. The majority of unintended pregnancies resulted from failures in withdrawal and the pill use. Multivariate findings showed that compared to contraceptive nonusers, the risk of unwanted and mistimed pregnancy was higher among women with contraceptive failures, and lower among those with contraceptive discontinuation. Parity and birth interval were inversely related with the likelihood of mistimed pregnancy, whereas parity was positively associated with the incidence of unwanted pregnancy. Women’s education, employment, and gender of the recent birth were not associated with unintended pregnancy. The high risk of unintended pregnancies among contraceptive nonusers and those with contraceptive failures have important implications for the family planning program in Iran.