Postpartum and Post-abortion Contraception and Sexual Inactivity among Single Adolescent and Young Adult Females in Ghana

Abstract

This study assesses the relationship between pregnancy outcomes and pregnancy-preventive behaviours among unmarried young women intending to delay childbearing. Using data from the 2014 Ghana DHS among 1,118 single women aged 15–24 years, the study assessed how childbirth and abortion are related with sexual inactivity and use of modern contraception. Postpartum women were thrice as likely as nulligravid women and twice as likely as post-abortion women to use contraceptives. Post-abortion women were least likely to be sexually inactive. Duration of sexual experience was positively associated with the likelihood of a met need, particularly among the postpartum, and negatively associated with sexual inactivity among the ever-aborted. Prior pregnancy outcomes have significant implications for secondary abstinence and contraceptive use among unmarried young women. Efforts must be strengthened towards increasing access to modern contraceptives for young women who present for abortions in Ghana