Measuring factors underlying intendedness of women's first and later pregnancies

Unintended pregnancy is associated with poor health outcomes for mothers and infants, and is indicative of gaps in family planning services. Conventional measures of pregnancy intendedness do not reflect the multiple factors affecting a woman's pregnancy-related intentions and attitudes.

Data collected between March 2002 and February 2003 from 701 women in a public family planning clinic and 671 women in a public prenatal clinic in New Orleans were analyzed to examine factors underlying intendedness (including attitudes toward pregnancy and motivations to achieve or avoid pregnancy).

In factor analyses, variables measuring pregnancy intendedness were represented by a single latent factor, pregnancy desirability. For first pregnancy, variables that best captured desirability were those measuring happiness, effort in achieving the pregnancy, extent of looking forward to telling friends, whether the pregnancy was intended (i.e., came at the right time or later), and whether the woman wanted to have a baby with her partner. For last or current pregnancies that were second or higher order ones, they were happiness, pregnancy wantedness, effort in achieving the pregnancy, whether the pregnancy was planned and whether the woman wanted to have a baby with her partner. Among women younger than 18 at first pregnancy, happiness and whether a woman wanted a baby with her partner were the only items that captured pregnancy desirability.

Future surveys on pregnancy intendedness could reduce the number of questions used to capture pregnancy desirability. This should help standardize surveillance systems and permit better assessment of trends in pregnancy desirability over time.