A Prospective Study of Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes Among Planned and Unplanned Pregnancies in Natural Family Planning Users
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Date
1996Author
Bitto, Adenike
Gray, Ronald H.
Simpson, Joe L.
Queenan, John T.
Kambic, Robert T.
Perez, Alfredo
Mena, Patricio
Barbato, Michele
Li, Chuanjun
Jennings, Victoria
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Objectives. To prospectively determine whether unplanned
pregnancies are associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes among
users of natural family planning (NFP).
Methods. Women who became pregnant while using NFP were
identified in five centers worldwide: there were 373 unplanned
and 367 planned pregnancies. Subjects were followed up at 16 and
32 weeks gestation and after delivery. The risks of spontaneous
abortion, low birth weight and preterm birth were estimated after
adjustment by logistic regression.
Results. The women with unplanned pregnancies were more likely to
be at the extremes of age, to report more medical problems before
and during the index pregnancy, and to seek antenatal care later
in gestation than the women with planned pregnancies. However,
women with planned pregnancies reported a higher rate of
spontaneous abortion in prior pregnancies (28.8%) than did women
with unplanned pregnancies (12.9%, p<0.001). There were no significant differences in the rates of spontaneous abortion, low
birth weight or preterm birth in the two groups.
Conclusions. No increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes was
observed among women who experienced an unplanned pregnancy
during NFP use. (Am J Public Health. 1996:00:0000-0000).