Does First Pregnancy is Unintended in Poor Settings of Northern India? Perspectives from married couples in Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh

The objective of this study was to explore the perceptions towards fist pregnancy and contraceptive use among married couples. Information was collected in 2011 from currently married women aged 15-34 years and their husbands. A total of 964 women and 497 men were interviewed. Mean age of women was 25 years and 39% had started cohabitating before their 15th birthday. 73% were non-literate, 38% were exposed to any mass media and mean number of children ever born was 3.3. About four-year difference in education was found between men and women, with men having completed an average of 6.6 years and women 2.9 years of schooling.

Unmet need for first pregnancy was high (56%) as their family members wanted fist child to be soon after marriage (husband 15% and mother-in-law (34%). Only one-third of men discussed about family planning with their wives before first pregnancy. Logistic regression reveals that women were significantly less likely to have first child after marriage (odds ratio-0.825) than men. Findings reveal that perception towards first pregnancy was strongly drives by men. In order to enhance family planning use as well as bringing down the unmet need for fist pregnancy, inter-spousal communication may be promoted as strategically.