Unintended Pregnancy among Iranian Young Women: Incidence, Correlates and Outcomes

The present paper examines the level and correlates of unintended pregnancies among young women in the Islamic Republic of Iran using a sub-sample of 4,402 ever-married women aged between 15 and 24 from the 2010 Iran Multi-Indicator Demographic and Health Survey (IrMIDHS). Multivariate analysis is then applied to the 2005 Iran Low Fertility Survey (ILFS) to explore the experience of pregnancy termination in young ages. The comparison of the outcomes of wanted and unintended pregnancies shows that the proportion of both induced and spontaneous abortions are significantly higher for unintended than for wanted pregnancies. The higher rates of abortion among the more recent pregnancy cohorts (1995-2005) indicate an increasing trend of pregnancy termination in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The paper concludes with a recommendation stressing the importance of continued provision of family planning services to young couples, in order to reduce the risk of unintended pregnancy and to avoid unsafe and clandestine abortions that may cause numerous irreversible adverse effects on women's health.