Correlates of unintended pregnancy in Beheira governorate, Egypt

This study looked at the frequency and determinants of unplanned births among women in Beheira governorate, Egypt, and the effects on antenatal and postnatal care sought by the mother for herself and her child. Unintended births comprised 23.6%; 13.8% were unwanted and 9.8% were mistimed. Contraceptive failure accounted for 28.8% of unintended pregnancies; 47.1% of women who reported unintended pregnancy were not using [corrected] contraception. Age, education and parity were predictors of unwanted pregnancy. Contraceptive use and maternal employment status predicted mistimed pregnancy. Unintended pregnancy was a barrier to antenatal care, but not to child care. Our findings suggest that family planning programmes should help women of reproductive age achieve spacing and fertility limits

Child abuse and neglect: mothers' behaviour and perceptions

Mothers' behaviour relating to child maltreatment, their perceptions of such behaviour and its correlates to parents' characteristics and family background were investigated. Women with at least one child under 18 years were targeted and given an interview questionnaire. A high proportion of mothers reported maltreatment behaviour that constituted emotional [69.0%] and physical [57.1%] abuse as well as neglecting the child's safety [43.8%], education [46.1%] and medical care [53.3%]. Mothers tended to perceive neglectful behaviour rather than abusive behaviour as child maltreatment. Child maltreatment was significantly associated with parents' level of education, father's occupation, mother's working status, financial problems, mother's age at the birth of the first child, number of offspring, crowding index and maternal perceptions of maltreatment