Just over half of all women of reproductive age at any given time have experienced an unplanned pregnancy, according to a major research study published today by Australia’s leading sexual and reproductive healthcare organisation, Marie Stopes International Australia.

“Of the 2,003 women who commenced the study, 1,022 women confirmed having experienced an unplanned pregnancy,” said Suzanne Dvorak, Australian CEO of Marie Stopes International Australia.

“This figure is proof that unplanned pregnancy is a key health issue for Australian women and more needs to be done to reduce the statistic, recognising women’s desires for support at this time.”

Other key findings in the report include:

·75% of women did not wish to speak to a counsellor before making a decision on how to proceed with an unplanned pregnancy.

·Parenting was the most (56%) and adoption the least (2%) popular choice for resolving an unplanned pregnancy.

·81% of women said it was important that a pregnancy counsellor refer for all three options – abortion, adoption and parenting.

·21% of women sought information to assist their decision-making from their spouses/partners/biological father, while their local GP was the port of call for 17% of women facing an unplanned pregnancy. 13% of women stated that they did not need to seek any additional information to assist with their decision-making.

·19% of women turned to their doctors for emotional support with the next most common resource their families (16%) and anonymous pregnancy counsellors available by phone (12%).

·90% of women believed women should be able to obtain an abortion in all or some circumstances.

“Given that three out of four women don’t want to speak to a counsellor before making a decision on how to proceed with an unplanned pregnancy, the Commonwealth Government should review their $51 million pregnancy counselling initiative and redirect funds into lowering contraceptive failure rates, providing greater access to sexual health services, paid maternity leave and child care support,” Ms Dvorak said.

The study – What women want when faced with an unplanned pregnancy - was conducted by WebSurvey, enlisting the database of Pureprofile to select the sample.[1]

“Taking into account the finding that the vast majority of women believe it is important for pregnancy counsellors to refer for all three options, together with the 19% of women who stated that they relied on pregnancy counsellors accessed by phone or in person for support, there is a definite need for regulation of pregnancy counsellors to ensure integrity and quality of care,” Cait Calcutt, Coordinator of Children By Choice, said. Children by Choice is a Queensland based unplanned pregnancy counselling and information service that refers for all options.

To download a copy of the key findings of the report, visit www.mariestopes.org.au.

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[1] Invitations were extended so as to obtain weighted samples with regard to age and residency by state, as ascertained by the Australian Bureau of Statistics