Socio-cultural determinants of unwanted pregnancy: a case study from Rural Egypt

The paper reports on the determinants and consequences of unwanted pregnancy in a rural Egyptian community. This study is contexted in terms of reproductive health, shortcomings of family planning programmes and the problem of unwanted pregnancy in Egypt. The study findings are derived from the integration of the results of a structured interview with 623 married parous women residing in lower rural Egypt and 6 focus group discussion sessions undertaken in 1992-93. The paper focuses in particular upon the problem of unwanted pregnancy. Findings are outlined in terms of contraception behaviour, unwanted pregnancy and abortion. The findings highlight the need for a strategy to protect the reproductive health of rural women