Unintended pregnancy and future contraceptive use among slum and non-slum women in Nairobi, Kenya

Jean-Christophe Fotso, African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)
Teresa V. Saliku, African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)
Rhoune Adhiambo Ochako, African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)

The objectives of this paper are to describe patterns of unintended pregnancy and contraception use; investigate the association between the unintended pregnancy and future use of modern contraceptive methods; and explore the reasons that may explain the above association. It uses data from a cross-sectional study conducted in 2009-10 in two slum settlements and two non-slum settlements of Nairobi, Kenya. A total of 1,962 women were interviewed, almost equally distributed between the slum and the non-slum settings. 80 in-depth interviews (IDIs) with selected women who experienced unintended pregnancy were also conducted. The multivariate results show that women whose last pregnancy was unintended were more likely to use modern contraception, than their counterparts who did not experience unintended pregnancy (p=0.051). Among women who had experienced unintended pregnancy, there was a genuine fear of a repeated unwanted pregnancy, and some degree of willingness use contraceptive methods