Identifying whether a birth was intended or not can be rather complex with a host of factors affecting a woman’s response.  A major problem with measuring unintended pregnancy is that it measures women’s intentions after a birth has occurred, when the intentions are likely influenced by the presence of the baby (Santelli, 2003). Since retrospectively reported intentions generally become more positive over time, after the mother has bonded with the infant, the data tends to be skewed downwards. Secondly, if the pregnancy of interest was reported as mistimed, the indicator does not specify to what extent it was mistimed.  A pregnancy that occurs a few months earlier than wanted or planned will likely have less of an impact on a woman or couple compared with one that comes several years too soon (Santelli, 2003). Although mistimed and unwanted pregnancies are grouped together in the analysis, they have different effects on women depending on their age and stage in their reproductive life. Furthermore, a pregnancy reported as mistimed does not necessarily imply that the woman was unhappy about it, which leads back to intentions being influenced by the baby’s presence.  Due to conflicting emotional, psychological, and cultural factors, including a male partner’s attitudes and behaviors, it is not uncommon for a woman to feel ambivalent about her child’s birth and therefore fail to form an intention about her pregnancy.

Santelli, J., Rochat, R., Hatfield-Timajchy, K., Colley Gilbert, B., Curtis, K., Cabral, R., Hirsch, J., and Schieve, L. 2003. “The Measurement and Meaning of Unintended Pregnancy.”  Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 35 (2): 94-101.

Klerman, LV. 2000.  “The intendededness of pregnancy: a concept in transition.” Maternal and Child Health Journal 4 (3): 155-162.