182865 Racial and Ethnic Differences in Contraceptive Behaviors and Unintended Pregnancies: Findings from the Los Angeles Mommy and Baby (LAMB) Survey

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Eunice Muthengi Karei, MPH, MSW , Department of Community Health Sciences, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Fathima Wakeel, PhD , Department of Community Health Sciences, University of California Los Angeles School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
Karen M. Coller, PhD MPH , Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA
Luu Cortes Doan , Department of Community Health Sciences, University of California Los Angeles School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
Angie Denisse Otiniano, MPH , School of Public Health Department of Community Health Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Michael C. Lu, MD, MPH , Department of Community Health Sciences and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of California Los Angeles School of Public Health and School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA
Shin Margaret Chao, PhD, MPH , Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
Cynthia Harding, MPH , Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
Giannina M. Donatoni, PhD, MT(ASCP) , Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
Yvonne Y. Lau, MPH, RD , Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
Chandra Higgins, MPH , Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
Marian Eldahaby , Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
Diana E. Ramos, MD, MPH , Reproductive Health, Los Angeles County-Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
OBJECTIVE: To examine racial and ethnic differences in contraceptive behaviors and unintended pregnancies. METHODS: We used data from the first wave of 2007 Los Angeles Mommy and Baby (LAMB) Survey. LAMB is a mail sample survey with telephone follow-up for non-respondents based on multistage clustered design. Our preliminary analyses were based on the responses of 721 women with a live birth in 2007 in Los Angeles County. Unintended pregnancies were further stratified into 3 categories: 1) mistimed by less than 3 years, (2) mistimed by 3 to 5 years, or 3) unwanted. The relationships between race and ethnicity, contraceptive behaviors, and unintended pregnancy were examined using Pearson's chi square tests. RESULTS: Nearly half (48%) of the women surveyed reported that their most recent pregnancy was unintended. Latina (56%) and African American women (60%) were significantly more likely to report an unintended pregnancy compared to White (34%) and Asian/Pacific Islanders (35%) (P<0.001). Of those who did not intend to get pregnant, only 15% of African American (AA) women were using contraceptives consistently, compared to 21% of Asian/Pacific Islanders (API), 26% of Latinos and 31% of Whites. Latina women with unintended pregnancies were more likely to report emergency contraceptive use than other groups. DISCUSSION: Our findings indicate high rates of unintended pregnancy and significant racial-ethnic differences in contraceptive behaviors and unintended pregnancies.

Learning Objectives:
By the end of this session, the participants will be able to • Describe the overall rates of preconceptional contraceptive use and unintended pregnancy in a population-based survey of women with a recent live birth in Los Angeles County; • Discuss disparities in contraceptive use and unintended pregnancy by race-ethnicity and other sociodemographic characteristics; • Discuss programmatic and policy implications of our findings.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I do not have a conflict of interest.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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