Level and Correlates of Unintended Pregnancy among Currently Pregnant Young Women in India

Abstract

This study examined the level of unintended pregnancy among young Indian women and their co-variate using demographic and health survey data for India collected in 2005-2006 i.e, NFHS-3. The respondents were married young women aged between 15-24 years (N=19,724) who answered questions regarding their status pregnancy. Bivariate analysis was done using chi square test for significance. Factors and correlates were modelled using binary logit regression at 5 percent significance level. 17 percent young women were found currently pregnant and 22 percent (4,046 women) were conceived unintendedly. The number of surviving children, fertility preference, and spousal desire for children, elevates unintended pregnancy. Sexual violence increases the risk and burden of unintended pregnancy (p<0.05) among young women in the country. The study concludes that non-socioeconomic factors particularly sexual violence contributes to unintended pregnancy in India, requiring strong intervention and community participation to advance women empowerment, age at marriage and stop threat of violence to accelerate the goal of sustainable development goals.