Magnitude and factors associated with unintended pregnancy among women attending antenatal care in ABUBEF clinics, Burundi

INTRODUCTION: Unintended pregnancy is a serious public health concern in both industrialized and developing countries. The unintended pregnancy rate in Burundi was 43%, and the pregnancy-related mortality rate was 334 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births for the 7 years preceding DHS-III, 2016-2017. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the magnitude and factors associated with unintended pregnancy among women attending antenatal care in the Association pour le Bien-Etre Familial (ABUBEF) clinics in Burundi. METHODS: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among pregnant women who attended Antenatal natal care (ANC) in ABUBEF clinics. A single population proportion formula was used to obtain the sample size. Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were employed to examine the existence of a relationship between the outcome and the independent variables. RESULTS: Out of 411 women of reproductive age attending ANC at ABUBEF clinics, 30.2% of them reported experiencing an unintended pregnancy. Maternal age [AOR = 0.40; 95% CI: 0.23–0.69], marital status [AOR = 0.50; 95% CI: 0.29–0.87], parity [AOR=4.85; 95% CI: 2.72–8.63] and number of living children [AOR =6.2; 95% CI: 1.53–25.14] were associated with unintended pregnancy. CONCLUSION: Our study revealed that the magnitude of unintended pregnancy was 30.2% among women who attended ANC at ABUBEF clinics. The maternal age, marital status, parity, and the number of living children were associated with unintended pregnancy. A comprehensive sex education program and ensuring access to affordable and diverse contraceptive methods to empower individuals to make informed choices can help prevent unintended pregnancies.