Abstract
Background Unplanned or unintended pregnancy is one of the major health issues globally and regionally. It poses many health, psychological, and financial impacts on the individual and the health care system. Some determinants can affect women's decision to become pregnant; tackling these determinants can give policymakers a better understanding of the current health issue and help them develop recommendations accordingly.
This study aimed to identify the prevalence and determinants of unplanned pregnancy in pregnant women visiting antenatal clinics in primary health care centers in the western region of Saudi Arabia from September 2022 to July 2023.
Methods An analytic cross-sectional study was conducted in Jeddah from September 2022 to July 2023. A convenient nonprobability sampling method was used to recruit 346 pregnant women who were booked in primary health care antenatal clinics; the data were collected using the modified Arabic version of the London Measure of Unplanned Pregnancy (LMUP). The questionnaire data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 22.
Results The prevalence of unplanned pregnancy among the study population was 17.6%. There was a significant association between unplanned pregnancy and the duration between the last two pregnancies, having thoughts and actions to terminate the pregnancy, and meeting the women's contraceptive needs.
Conclusion Unplanned pregnancy is prevalent among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in primary health care centers at KAMC in the western province of Saudi Arabia but is less common in this region than in other parts of the world. Multiple risk factors can determine the risk of unplanned pregnancy, including women's education, family income, and ability to meet contraceptive needs. Public health personnel can use these indicators to understand population fertility and women's health services and reduce the rate of unplanned pregnancies, a key objective for the health care system in Saudi Arabia.