Intendedness of pregnancy among active duty women in the United States Army

Michael Harley Custer, The University of Texas School of Public Health

Abstract

Objective. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of unintended pregnancy and the association between social and demographic factors among a population of active duty women in the U.S. Army giving birth to viable infants at a U.S. Army hospital at Fort Hood, Texas. Prevalence of unintended pregnancy in this group was 50.9% (95% CI 44.0 to 57.9) with 36.3% being mistimed (95% CI 29.8 to 33.2) and 14.6% being unwanted (95% CI 10.2 to 20.1). A further 14.2% of the women experienced ambivalence (95% CI 9.8 to 19.6). The study population was a cross-sectional group of active duty pregnant women who represent the target population of all female soldiers that deliver viable infants in the Army. Using a survey based on previous studies, intendedness of pregnancy at conception was retrospectively determined. Unintended births are further characterized as mistimed or unwanted. Demographic and other exposures were described bivariately. Associations were evaluated using measures of relative risk and chi-square analysis. The results of the research indicate that in the study population, race/ethnicity is not associated with unintended pregnancy and non-commissioned officers had a lower rate of unintended pregnancy than other rank groupings.

Subject Area

Public health

Recommended Citation

Custer, Michael Harley, "Intendedness of pregnancy among active duty women in the United States Army" (1999). Texas Medical Center Dissertations (via ProQuest). AAI9981138.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/dissertations/AAI9981138

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