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Abstract:
The results of the 2010/11 Zimbabwe
Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS) showed
that 32 percent of births among women age 15-
49 in the five years preceding the survey
were unintended—either mistimed (wanted
later) or not wanted at all (unwanted).
Unintended births pose a serious threat to
the
attainment of the Millennium Development
Goals, particularly for reducing child
mortality and improving maternal health. The
aim of this study is to establish if there is
a relationship between women’s HIV status and
having unintended births.
The study used cross-sectional data from the
2010/11 ZDHS. Of the 9,171 women respondents
in the survey, this study focused on the
1,458 women age 15-49 who had had a birth in
the two years preceding the survey, were
tested for HIV, and responded to the
household relations module (domestic violence
module). Almost 14 percent of women in this
study were HIV-positive and about one-third
(34 percent) reported that a birth in the two
years preceding the survey was unintended.
The analysis showed that, controlling for
other factors, 1) HIV-positive women were
almost twice as likely as HIV-negative women
to have had an unintended birth; 2) women who
experienced spousal physical violence during
their lifetime and women who experienced non-
spousal sexual violence were strongly
associated with unintended births; and 3)
unintended births were significantly
associated with the following variables: use
of family planning, contraceptive
discontinuation, mother’s age at birth,
marital status, and preceding birth interval
of the index child.
Unintended births are a major challenge in
sub-Saharan Africa. This analysis showed that
HIV status is related to unintended births,
with HIV-positive women being twice as likely
to have an unintended birth. As a result,
countries with a high HIV prevalence may be
more at risk for a high burden of unintended
pregnancies. HIV-positive women need
comprehensive information on family planning.
Unintended Births and HIV in the 2010-11 Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey (PDF, 1829K)