PRAMSGRAM :
Unintended Pregnancy

Unintended pregnancy has typically been defined as pregnancy that is either mistimed or unwanted at conception. Mistimed is generaly defined as "a pregnancy that is desired later in life but not at conception" and unwanted is defined as "not wanted then or at any time in the future". The most recent national figures show that approximately 49% of pregnancies are unintended in the United States and about 31 % of pregnancies resulting in a live birth are unintended. The Healthy People 2010 goal is to increase the proportion of pregnancies that are intended to at least 70%

The most recent PRAMSGRAM from the Oklahoma State Department of Health describes the characteristics of women with live births in Oklahoma who reported unintended pregnancies between 2000 and 2003.

In Oklahoma:

• Thirty-seven percent of women did not want to become pregnant at the time they became pregnant.
  
• Approximately thirty percent of women did not mind becoming pregnant at the time of conception.
  
• Only 35.1% of mothers indicated that their pregnancies were intended at conception.
  
• Unintended pregnancies were most common among women who were less than 20 years of age, African American, unmarried, had less than a high school education, or were low income and received Medicaid funded services.
  
• Almost two-thirds of all women reporting unintended pregnancies utilized Medicaid funds for pernatal and/or delivery care.

(Source: Oklahoma PRAMSGRAM- Spring2006)

For a full copy of the PRAMSGRAM on Unintended Pregnany contact the Oklahoma Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition at 405.236.5437 x108

For copies of archived PRAMSGRAMS visit http://www.health.state.ok.us/program/mchp&e/pramarch.html