Pregnancy planning and antenatal health behaviour: findings from one maternity unit in Turkey

Abstract

Objective: to determine the relationship between pregnancy planning and antenatal behaviours.

Design and method: a descriptive study using a questionnaire completed during face-to-face interviews.

Setting: the obstetric and gynaecology department of one public hospital in Turkey.

Participants: 1355 postpartum women.

Findings: of the pregnancies among these women, 71.3% were planned, 17% were unplanned and 11.7% were unwanted. Women with unwanted or unplanned pregnancies smoked more often than the women whose pregnancies were planned; these women were also less likely to take recommended vitamins such as folic acid, and were less likely to have adequate nutrition or gain an appropriate level of weight during pregnancy. Women with unwanted pregnancies tended to attend later for antenatal care, to not attend as often as women with planned or unplanned pregnancies (p<0.01). This study found that pregnancy planning influenced antenatal health behaviour.