{"id":496486,"date":"2010-03-31T15:58:14","date_gmt":"2010-03-31T19:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c630a53ef0133ec5cde82970b"},"modified":"2010-03-31T16:12:40","modified_gmt":"2010-03-31T20:12:40","slug":"four-in-10-babies-born-in-l-a-county-began-as-unplanned-pregnancies-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/496486","title":{"rendered":"Four in 10 babies born in L.A. County began as unplanned pregnancies, study finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"http:\/\/latimesblogs.latimes.com\/.a\/6a00d8341c630a53ef0120a5ae1ee8970b-320wi\"<\/img>About 40% of births in Los Angeles County each year are the result of
\nunplanned pregnancies, which can endanger the health of babies, according to a study released Wednesday<\/a> by the county\u2019s Department of Public Health<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The figure was based primarily on a county survey completed in 2006 of
\nmore than 5,200 women ages 13 to 56 who had recently delivered. The
\npercentage of unplanned pregnancies was about the same among women who
\ngave birth and those who suffered stillbirths and miscarriages,
\naccording to Dr. Susie Baldwin, chief of the department\u2019s health
\nassessment unit, which produced the study \u201cHealthy Women, Healthy
\nChildren.\u201d <\/p>\n

The study did not include women whose latest pregnancy ended in
\nabortion, who earlier studies show have a much higher percentage of
\nunplanned pregnancies, Baldwin said. <\/p>\n

Although state
\nstudies show<\/a> that for the same time period as the county study about 43% of
\nbirths were unplanned statewide, the county numbers still trouble
\npublic health experts because women who do not realize they are pregnant
\n are likely to delay prenatal care and may smoke or drink alcohol. Women
\n who have had another child within six months of an unplanned pregnancy
\nare at even greater risk, and are more likely to have a child born prematurely
\nwith a low birth weight, researchers found. <\/p>\n

Statewide and nationally, the number of unplanned pregnancies has
\nremained relatively unchanged in recent years experts said, despite
\nefforts
\nby the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services<\/a> to reduce all
\nunplanned pregnancies to 30% by this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll pregnancies should be planned. An unplanned pregnancy should be a
\nrare thing,\u201d Baldwin said. \u201cIt goes back to education and access.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

A lack of health insurance and regular access to care may have
\ncontributed to the number of unplanned pregnancies, Baldwin said.<\/p>\n

Researchers found 23% of women of childbearing age lacked health
\ninsurance, and 20% said they did not have a regular source of health
\ncare. Those percentages were even higher among women who had recently
\ndelivered babies \u2014 36% lacked insurance, 33% lacked regular health care.<\/p>\n

The lack of regular care may affect women\u2019s ability to plan for
\npregnancy.<\/p>\n

About 80% of those at risk for pregnancy reported using a regular form
\nof birth control the last time they had sex, although that percentage
\nvaried by ethnicity \u2014 87% of whites compared with 81% of Asians, 80% of
\nLatinas and 67% of African Americans. <\/p>\n

About 82% of women who had recently delivered a baby said they had
\nreceived information about the importance of prenatal vitamins
\ncontaining folic acid, but only 57% of them had taken the vitamins
\nbefore becoming pregnant.<\/p>\n

Researchers proposed developing minimum preconception care requirements
\nand extending Medi-Cal benefits for mothers with high-risk pregnancies
\nfor two years postpartum.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe opportunity to impact the health of a baby starts before
\nconception, and the health of a potential mother should be a priority
\nlong before pregnancy,\u201d said Jonathan E. Fielding, the county\u2019s public
\nhealth director. <\/p>\n

Worldwide, the rate of unintended pregnancy declined by 20% between 1995
\n and 2008, from 69 to 55 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44. The decline was
\ngreater in the more developed world, where the rate fell by 29% (from 59
\n to 42 per 1,000 women), than in the less developed world, where it fell
\n by 20% (from 71 to 57 per 1,000), according to a study by the
\nGuttmacher Institute.<\/p>\n

— Molly Hennessy-Fiske<\/p>\n

Photo: Los Angeles Times<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

About 40% of births in Los Angeles County each year are the result of unplanned pregnancies, which can endanger the health of babies, according to a study released Wednesday by the county\u2019s Department of Public Health. The figure was based primarily on a county survey completed in 2006 of more than 5,200 women ages 13 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4765,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-496486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4765"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=496486"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496486\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=496486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=496486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=496486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}