UNINTENDED PREGNANCIES IN WOMEN DELIVERING AT 18 SOUTH-AMERICAN HOSPITALS

Unintended pregnancies are accepted as associated with social, materna l and perinatal risks, but few data exist in South America. In a selec ted network of hospitals participating in the ECLAMC (Spanish acronym for Latin American Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations), t he frequency of unintended pregnancies was 49.8 % in 5155 mothers of n ormal liveborns, as interviewed in the post-partum period (1992-1994). Compared with the intended pregnancy group, these mothers were more f requently multiparous, conceived easily, had a surprisingly higher mea n maternal age, lower educational level, and Black ancestors. The freq uency of mistimed pregnancies was the highest among primiparae, No adv erse perinatal outcome could be found with regard to low birthweight ( < 2500 g), prematurity (< 37 weeks), and early neonatal death. The rat es of Caesarean delivery, twinning and sex ratio were similar in inten ded and unintended groups.Logistic regression analysis showed that mat ernal education could be a confounding factor associated with other ma ternal variables. The rate of unintended pregnancies in the present st udy is significantly higher than that described for other regions, Kno wledge of the characteristics of women experiencing unintended pregnan cies would allow proper public health strategies.