Prevalence And Predictors of Unplanned Pregnancies among Married Women in Sokoto Metropolis, Northwest, Nigeria

Background: Unplanned pregnancy is a major public health issue of global concern that is often associated with negative socio-medical problems for both mother and child; estimates have shown that up to 80 million unplanned pregnancies occur worldwide each year. This study determined the prevalence and predictors of unplanned pregnancies among married women in Sokoto metropolis, Sokoto, Nigeria. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 324 married women who were selected via multistage sampling technique. Data was collected using structured questionnaire and analysis was done using IBM SPSS version 26. Results: The age of respondents in this study ranged from 15 to 45 years, with mean age of 30.9± 7.2 years. Most of the respondents were of the Hausa tribe [233(73.7%)] and majority were Muslims [306(96.8%)]. Prevalence of unplanned pregnancy among the respondents was 32.5% (n=103), out of which 34(32.7%) had experienced it between 2-4 times. Among those that had unplanned pregnancy, 79(76.4%) said they carried the pregnancy to term, 17(16.7%) had miscarriage while 7(6.9%) said they aborted it. Significant predictors of unplanned pregnancy were duration of marriage between 5-10 years (p=0.026; OR=0.403; 95% CI= 0.181-0.895), parity (p<0.001; OR=2.981; 95% CI=1.829-4.860) and being in a monogamous relationship (p=0.019; OR=1.911; 95% CI=1.113-3.280). Conclusion: Prevalence of unplanned pregnancy was quite high among married women in Sokoto metropolis. Significant predictors of having unplanned pregnancy include duration of marriage, parity and type of marriage. There is need for women to be educated on the various ways they can prevent having pregnancies that they do not intend to have. Keywords: Prevalence, predictors, unplanned pregnancy, married women, Sokoto metropolis