Mistimed and Unwanted Pregnancies in Jordan: The Influence of Wealth, Decisionmaking Power, and Access to Contraception

Kiersten Johnson, ORC Macro

The total fertility rate in Jordan has declined steadily since 1990, from 5.6 children per woman to 3.7 in 2002. Concomitantly, current use of contraception has risen from 27 percent in 1990 to 39 percent in 2002. Despite evidence that Jordanian women largely approve of and use contraception, the 2002 Jordan Population and Family Health Survey indicates that one-third of Jordanian women continue to report mistimed or unwanted pregnancies. The purpose of this analysis is to investigate the characteristics of women who report mistimed or unwanted pregnancies. These characteristics will be examined with regard to their relationship with current contraceptive use, continuity of contraceptive use, and unmet need status. A multivariate analysis of the factors associated with mistimed or unwanted fertility will include innovative explanatory variables such as household wealth status (using an asset-based wealth index), distance to health facility (using GIS data), and women's decisionmaking power in the household.