Unintended pregnancy and mental health among women in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar: Evidence from UDAYA survey

Abstract Background A pregnancy is the most crucial phase of a woman’s life, both physically and mentally. Studies reveals that women with an unintended pregnancy are at an increased risk of depression during pregnancy. As depression, anxiety, or stress during pregnancy can severely affect the health of women and children. This study attempts to scrutinize the association between intention of pregnancy and depressive symptoms among young adolescent girls. Data and methods We used data from Understanding the lives of adolescents and young adults (UDAYA, 2018). The adequate sample size was 5,165 currently married adolescent aged (15–23 years), who were either had a pregnancy with a successful outcome or presently pregnant. Descriptive statistics and bivariate analysis with percentages and chi-square test were used to find the preliminary results. For analyzing the association between unintended pregnancy and depression, the binary logistic regression analysis was conducted. Results Nearly 37% of the women’s had unintended pregnancy. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was higher (44%) among women who had unintended pregnancies. Women who have unintended pregnancy were 33 percent higher likely to suffer from depressive-symptoms than their counterparts [AOR: 1.33, CI: 1.18–1.50]. The odds of depression [UOR: 1.13, CI: 1.00-1.28] were more among women who ever had worse pregnancy outcome than their counterparts. Conclusion Women reporting that the pregnancy was unwanted were almost twice as likely to experience depressive symptoms compared women with a wanted pregnancy. It is thus, important to give attention to the reproductive health choice, unmet need for contraceptives and social support among women, especially from disadvantageous social groups.