Unintended pregnancy and its risk factors among university students in eastern China

The study was conducted to determine the prevalence of unintended pregnancy, induced abortion and contraceptive use, and factors associated with unintended pregnancy among Chinese university students.

A self-administered questionnaire survey with cross-sectional design was administered among students in two universities in Ningbo, China, in November-December 2003. Sociodemographic and behavioral factors associated with unintended pregnancy were identified in both genders using univariate and multivariate analyses.

Of sexually active students, 10.6% of male and 11.6% of female students reported their partner or they had a history of pregnancy; 10.0% of male and 11.3% of female students reported their partner or they had a history of induced abortion. The risk factors for unintended pregnancy identified among males by multivariate analysis were older age [odds ratio (OR), 2.12; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.15-3.88], initiation of sexual activity before high school (OR, 2.45; 95% CI, 1.36-4.44), reported lack of condom use in first sexual activity (OR, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.10-2.64), multiple sexual partners (OR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.06-2.23), and often used condoms during their lifetime (OR, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.01-3.81). The identified risk factors among females were initiation of sexual activity before high school (OR, 5.12; 95% CI, 1.49-17.68), non-consensual sexual intercourse as first sex (OR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.08-2.90), multiple partners (OR, 2.75; 95% CI, 1.61-4.71), and sometimes/never (OR, 3.02; 95% CI, 1.16-7.87) or often (OR, 3.92; 95% CI, 1.43-10.73) used condoms during their lifetime.

The high prevalence of unintended pregnancies and induced abortions in this population indicates a need for better and targeted sex education and family planning services.