Postpartum and post-abortion contraceptive use among unmarried young women in Ghana

Bibliographic Data

ID21342804
AuthorsD Yaw Atiglo (0000-0001-6298-6475, University of Ghana, corresponding author), Adriana A E Biney (0000-0002-7188-0135, University of Ghana)
Year2021
Volume53
Issue3
Pages459-470
Publication date2021-05-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Biosocial Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-9320 • E-ISSN: 1469-7599
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0021932020000309
PMID32594943
OpenAlexW3037502602
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited34

Pregnancy outcomes impact subsequent contraceptive behaviour. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between previous pregnancy outcomes and subsequent contraceptive behaviours among unmarried young women intending to delay childbearing. Using data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, among 1118 sexually experienced, fecund and non-pregnant unmarried women aged 15–24 years, the study assessed how childbirth and abortion are related to sexual abstinence and use of modern contraception. While about 70% of unmarried young women were nulligravid, approximately 11% had had an abortion and 18.2% were postpartum. The majority of respondents were sexually abstinent while 21% and 27% were using and not using contraception, respectively. Postpartum women were more likely than nulligravid and post-abortion women to use contraceptives. Post-abortion women were least likely to be sexually abstinent. Number of years since the respondent’s sexual debut was positively associated with the likelihood of using modern contraception, particularly among postpartum women, and negatively associated with sexual abstinence among those who had aborted. The findings show that prior pregnancy outcomes have significant implications for secondary abstinence and contraceptive use among unmarried young women in Ghana. Post-abortion women are more likely than postpartum women to be sexually active but less likely to use contraceptives. Efforts must be strengthened towards increasing access to modern contraceptives for young women who present for abortion in Ghana

Abortion · Abstinence · Childbirth · Environmental health · Family planning · Fertility · Gynecology · Obstetrics · Population · Pregnancy · Psychiatry · Research methodology · Sexual abstinence · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Demography · Global Maternal and Child Health · Medicine · Reproductive Health and Contraception

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