AT RISK OF AN UNPLANNED PREGNANCY IN BRIGHTON-HEALTH-AUTHORITY

Planned parenthood is an important public health objective, but it is difficult to obtain reliable figures concerning the number of unplanne d pregnancies. This paper describes some of the key findings from two local surveys-a Review of Family Planning Services and a Survey Examin ing Reproductive Health Services for Women-which contributed to our un derstanding of the risk of unplanned pregnancy in the Brighton Health Authority. The Faculty of Public Health Medicine Guidelines examining the effectiveness of contraceptive services were used to estimate the likely number of women at risk of an unplanned pregnancy in the distri ct and the result compared with the information from the local surveys . A considerable discrepancy was apparent. The guidelines produced an underestimate of the likely number of women at risk of an unplanned pr egnancy compared to the estimate produced from local sources. Local so urces estimated that 19 in every 100 sexually active women aged 16 to 49 years were at risk of an unplanned pregnancy but the guidelines pro duced an estimate which indicated that only four in every 100 women ag ed 16 to 44 years were at risk.