Objectives. This study assessed the relationship between unintended pregnan
cy and infant birthweight in Ecuador, differentiating between unwanted and
mistimed pregnancies,
Methods. Analyses focused on a subsample of women (n = 2490) interviewed in
the 1994 Ecuador Demographic and Maternal-Child Health Survey Logistic reg
ression was used to assess the relationship between pregnancy intention sta
tus and low birthweight after control for other factors.
Results. Infants from unwanted pregnancies were more likely than infants fr
om planned pregnancies to have low birth-weight (odds ratio = 1.64, 95% con
fidence interval = 1.22, 2.20). Mistimed pregnancy was not associated with
low birthweight.
Conclusions. Unwanted pregnancy, but not mistimed pregnancy, is associated
with low birthweight in Ecuador. Further research is needed to understand t
he mechanism through which pregnancy intention status affects birthweight.