Is There a Trend of Increased Unwanted Childbearing Among Young Women in the United States?
Received 15 August 2007; accepted 18 February 2008. published online 29 May 2008.
Abstract
Purpose
The majority of births to young women are unintended (either mistimed or unwanted), bearing an increased risk of poor health outcomes for both mother and child. In this analysis, we describe trends of unwanted, mistimed, and intended births reported by all women and specifically by young women in the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG).
Methods
Using data from the 1982, 1988, 1995, and 2002 NSFG surveys, we calculated the proportion of unwanted, mistimed, and intended births by maternal age at birth. For the 1995 and 2002 NSFG surveys, we also assessed birth intentions among 15–24-year-old nulliparous women and the mean number of unwanted births in the past 5 years among all 15–24-year-old women.
Results
The proportion of unintended births decreased between 1988 and 1995 but increased between 1995 and 2002. This recent increase was attributed to the increased proportion of unwanted births reported by women <25 years of age from 10.4% in 1995 to 18.6% in 2002 (p < .01). Between 1995 and 2002, the proportion of 15–24-year-old nulliparous women who intended no future births increased from 8.1% to 10.4% (p < .05), and the mean number of unwanted births per 1000 women aged 15–24 years increased from 25 to 48 (p < .01).
Conclusions
Our analyses suggest an increasing trend in unwanted childbearing among young women between 1995 and 2002. Further research is needed to understand the meaning and causes of increased unwanted childbearing among young women and to identify characteristics of those at risk.
Division of Reproductive Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
Address correspondence to: Dmitry M. Kissin, M.D., M.P.H., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway NE, MS K-34, Atlanta, GA 30341
The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
ABSTRACT