ADVERSE OUTCOMES OF PLANNED AND UNPLANNED PREGNANCIES AMONG USERS OF NATURAL FAMILY-PLANNING - A PROSPECTIVE-STUDY

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to determine propectively wh ether unplanned pregnancies are associated with adverse pregnancy outc omes among users of natural family planning. Methods. Women who became pregnant while using natural family planning were identified in five centers worldwide: there were 373 unplanned and 367 planned pregnancie s in this cohort. The subjects were followed up at 16 and 32 weeks' ge station and after delivery. The risks of spontaneous abortion, low bir thweight, and preterm birth were estimated after adjustment by logisti c regression. Results. The women with unplanned pregnancies were more likely to be at the extremes of age, to report mon medical problems be fore and during the index pregnancy, and to seek antenatal care later in gestation than the women with planned pregnancies. However, women w ith planned pregnancies reported a higher rate of spontaneous abortion in previous pregnancies (28.8%) than did women with unplanned pregnan cies (12.9%). There were no significant differences in the rates of sp ontaneous abortion, low birthweight, or preterm birth between the two groups. Conclusions. No increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes w as observed among women who experienced an unplanned pregnancy while u sing natural family planning.