Spokane Counts 2011 - Unintended Pregnancy

Unintended Pregnancy

Reproductive Health

Indicator: Unintended Pregnancy

Definition: An unintended pregnancy is when a woman wanted to get pregnant at a later time or did not want to be pregnant at the time of conception. This is measured as a percent of births and does not capture induced abortions; therefore, the rate underestimates the prevalence of unintended pregnancy.

Why is this important: Unintended pregnancies are associated with an increased risk of morbidity for women, and with behaviors during pregnancy that are associated with adverse effects for the infant.

Where are we: During 2007-2009 in Spokane County, 37.1% of pregnancies ending in a birth were unintended pregnancies. The proportion was similar in 2004-2006 and 2007-2009. The unintended pregnancy rate in Spokane County was similar to that of Washington State in 2007-2009.

Health Disparities:

Among births in Spokane County in 2007-2009:

Unintended pregnancy decreased as maternal age increased.
Compared to Whites, Non-Whites were more likely to have an unintended pregnancy.
Unintended pregnancy decreased as maternal education level increased.
Women on Medicaid were more likely to have an unintended pregnancy.

(click to enlarge)

	Data Source	PRAMS, 2007-2009

Geography	Spokane County	37.1% (29.3-45.5)
	WA	37.1% (35.3-39.0)
	U.S.	Not avail

	Trend	04/06-07/09 No Trend

Age	Births
	<18 yrs	100%
	18-24 yrs	53.0% (38.8-66.7)
	25-34 yrs	25.2% (16.6-36.2)
	35+ yrs	36.6% (16.0-63.7)

	White	35.2% (26.9-44.6)
	Non-White	60.4% (44.9-74.1)

Education	< High school	48.2% (20.6-77.0)
	High school	43.5% (28.6-59.7)
	Some college	47.4% (34.2-61.1)
	College graduate	13.0% (5.3-28.6)

Income	Medicaid	53.8% (40.7-66.5)
	Non-Medicaid	25.0% (16.5-36.1)

Data Source: Washington State Department of Health, MCH Assessment, PRAMS Project. Calculations and presentation of data by Spokane Regional Health District, Community Health Assessment.

Spokane Regional Health District · Community Health Assessment · 1101 W College Ave, Room 360, Spokane, WA 99201
509.323.2853 | FAX 509.232.1706 | TDD 509.324.1464 · www.srhd.org/spokanecounts