Unintended Pregnancy

In the U.S., approximately 50% of all pregnancies are unintended (that is the pregnancy is either unwanted or badly mistimed). This is the highest rate of all industrialized nations.

Why is a high rate of unintended pregnancy such a problem.

When women carry unintended pregnancies to term:

• Babies and mothers suffer more health problems
• The child is at greater risk of being abused
• The father is more likely to be absent
• Divorce is three times more likely
• Domestic violence is three times more likely
• Unwanted children are far more likely to have encounters with the criminal justice system as they grow up

The problem is not limited to teenagers and unmarried women; it affects all segments of society.

An Institute of Medicine Committee on Unintended Pregnancy in 1995 concluded that one of the reasons for the high rates of unintended pregnancy in the U.S. was the failure of private health insurance to cover contraceptives.

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