TY - JOUR
T1 - Psychiatric vulnerability and the risk for unintended pregnancies, a systematic review and meta-analysis
AU - Schonewille, N. N.
AU - Rijkers, N.
AU - Berenschot, A.
AU - Lijmer, J. G.
AU - van den Heuvel, O. A.
AU - Broekman, B. F. P.
N1 - Funding Information: This review is financially supported by OLVG, Dept. of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Amsterdam, Netherlands. This review is conducted in preparation for a study grant, received by ZonMw (554002007). Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/12/1
Y1 - 2022/12/1
N2 - Background: Unintended pregnancies (UPs) are a global health problem as they contribute to adverse maternal and offspring outcomes, which underscores the need for prevention. As psychiatric vulnerability has previously been linked to sexual risk behavior, planning capacities and compliance with contraception methods, we aim to explore whether it is a risk factor for UPs. Methods: Electronic databases were searched in November 2020. All articles in English language with data on women with age ≥ 18 with a psychiatric diagnosis at time of conception and reported pregnancy intention were included, irrespective of obstetric outcome (fetal loss, livebirth, or abortion). Studies on women with intellectual disabilities were excluded. We used the National Institutes of Health tool for assessment of bias in individual studies and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation method for assessment of quality of the primary outcome. Findings: Eleven studies reporting on psychiatric vulnerability and UPs were included. The participants of these studies were diagnosed with mood, anxiety, psychotic, substance use, conduct and eating disorders. The studies that have been conducted show that women with a psychiatric vulnerability (n = 2650) have an overall higher risk of UPs compared to women without a psychiatric vulnerability (n = 16,031) (OR 1.34, CI 1.08–1.67) and an overall weighed prevalence of UPs of 65% (CI 0.43–0.82) (n = 3881). Interpretation: Studies conducted on psychiatric vulnerability and UPs are sparse and many (common) psychiatric vulnerabilities have not yet been studied in relation to UPs. The quality of the included studies was rated fair to poor due to difficulties with measuring the outcome pregnancy intention (use of various methods of assessment and use of retrospective study designs with risk of bias) and absence of a control group in most of the studies. The findings suggest an increased risk of UPs in women with psychiatric vulnerability. As UPs have important consequences for mother and child, discussing family planning in women with psychiatric vulnerabilities is of utmost importance.
AB - Background: Unintended pregnancies (UPs) are a global health problem as they contribute to adverse maternal and offspring outcomes, which underscores the need for prevention. As psychiatric vulnerability has previously been linked to sexual risk behavior, planning capacities and compliance with contraception methods, we aim to explore whether it is a risk factor for UPs. Methods: Electronic databases were searched in November 2020. All articles in English language with data on women with age ≥ 18 with a psychiatric diagnosis at time of conception and reported pregnancy intention were included, irrespective of obstetric outcome (fetal loss, livebirth, or abortion). Studies on women with intellectual disabilities were excluded. We used the National Institutes of Health tool for assessment of bias in individual studies and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation method for assessment of quality of the primary outcome. Findings: Eleven studies reporting on psychiatric vulnerability and UPs were included. The participants of these studies were diagnosed with mood, anxiety, psychotic, substance use, conduct and eating disorders. The studies that have been conducted show that women with a psychiatric vulnerability (n = 2650) have an overall higher risk of UPs compared to women without a psychiatric vulnerability (n = 16,031) (OR 1.34, CI 1.08–1.67) and an overall weighed prevalence of UPs of 65% (CI 0.43–0.82) (n = 3881). Interpretation: Studies conducted on psychiatric vulnerability and UPs are sparse and many (common) psychiatric vulnerabilities have not yet been studied in relation to UPs. The quality of the included studies was rated fair to poor due to difficulties with measuring the outcome pregnancy intention (use of various methods of assessment and use of retrospective study designs with risk of bias) and absence of a control group in most of the studies. The findings suggest an increased risk of UPs in women with psychiatric vulnerability. As UPs have important consequences for mother and child, discussing family planning in women with psychiatric vulnerabilities is of utmost importance.
KW - Family planning
KW - Mental health
KW - Perinatal psychiatry
KW - Pregnancy intention
KW - Psychiatry
KW - Reproductive health
KW - Sexual risk behavior
KW - Unintended pregnancy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85125444472&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-022-04452-1
DO - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-022-04452-1
M3 - Article
C2 - 35216573
SN - 1471-2393
VL - 22
JO - BMC pregnancy and childbirth
JF - BMC pregnancy and childbirth
IS - 1
M1 - 153
ER -