Prevalence of short interpregnancy interval and its associated factors among pregnant women in Debre Berhan town, Ethiopia

AbstractBackgroundShort inter-pregnancy interval is when the time elapsed between the dates of birth of the preceding child and the conception date of the current pregnancy is < 24 months. Despite its direct effects on the perinatal and maternal outcomes, there is a paucity of evidence on its prevalence and determinant factors, particularly in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study assessed the prevalence and associated factors of short inter-pregnancy interval among pregnant women in Debre Berhan town, Northern Ethiopia.MethodsA community based cross sectional study was conducted among a randomly selected 496 pregnant women in Debre Berhan town from February 9 to March 9, 2020. The data was collected by using interviewer administered questionnaire and analyzed using STATA (14.2) statistical software. To identify the predictors of short inter-pregnancy interval, multivariable binary logistic regression was fitted and findings are presented using adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI).ResultThe overall prevalence of short inter-pregnancy interval (<24 months) among pregnant women was 205 (40.9%). Being over 30 years of age at first birth (AOR=3.50; 95% CI: 2.12-6.01), non-use of modern contraceptive (AOR=2.51; 95% CI: 1.23-3.71), duration of breast feeding for less than 12 months (AOR= 2.62; 95% CI: 1.32-5.23), parity above four (AOR=0.31; 95% CI: 0.05-0.81), and unintended pregnancy (AOR= 5.42; 95% CI: 3.34-9.22) were independently associated factors with short inter-pregnancy interval.ConclusionDespite the family planning and other public health intervention tried in the country, the prevalence of short inter-pregnancy interval in this study was high. Therefore, it implies that increasing contraceptive use and encouraging optimal breast feeding might help in the efforts made to avert the problem.