Socioeconomic and demographic differentials in unintended pregnancies, abortion, and contraceptive use in Spain: insights from the 2018 Fertility Survey

There is growing interest in the social stratification of demographic trends, including those related to reproductive outcomes. One issue that has received little attention in recent years in the case of Spain is the relationship between individuals’ social position and unintended pregnancies, abortion, and contraceptive use. We present descriptive statistics and estimate predicted probabilities from logistic regression models using a nationally representative sample of 14,556 women from the 2018 Spanish Fertility Survey. Results show that unintended pregnancies are more common among socially vulnerable women—those with a lower level of education, migrant background (not born in Spain), unstable partnership histories, or experience of employment instability. Abortions are also more prevalent within these groups. In contrast, women with higher socioeconomic status are more likely to avoid unintended pregnancies through more consistent contraceptive use. These findings highlight persistent social inequalities in reproductive health outcomes in Spain, suggesting the need for policy interventions that include educational programs on family planning and expand accessibility to reproductive health services particularly for the most vulnerable populations. Using data from the 2018 Fertility Survey, this study looks at which social groups in Spain are more likely to experience unintended pregnancies, to undergo abortions, and to use birth control. It finds that unintended pregnancies are more common among women who are less educated, who were born abroad, who have been in unstable relationships or who have experienced job instability. Abortions are also more likely among these women. Women with higher education, who are employed, born in Spain and married tend to avoid unintended pregnancies by using birth control more consistently. These results show ongoing inequalities in reproductive health in Spain and point to the need for public policies that improve access to information and reproductive health services—especially for the most vulnerable groups.