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Literature Review 2 FREQUENCY OF UNINTENDED PREGNANCIES The rate of unintended pregnancy can serve as an indicator of a society’s level of reproductive health. The ability to control when one has a child reflects women’s autonomy, and leads to an increased likelihood of positive child health outcomes (Finer & Zolna, 2016). Children conceived unintentionally are less likely to receive adequate prenatal care, and face higher likelihoods of low birth weight, premature birth, and exposure to toxins while in the womb (Kost & Lindburg, 2015). In 2011, 6.1 million pregnancies occurred in the United States. 45 percent of those pregnancies, or 2.8 million, were unintended (Finer & Zolna, 2016). North Carolina’s rate is even higher, at an estimated 54% in 2010 (Kost, 2015). While 2011 is the first substantial decline in the national unintended pregnancy rate since 1981, the United States still has a rate significantly higher than nations of similar levels of development. For example, Britain’s unintended pregnancy rate is approximately 16 percent (Wellings, 2013). Further, within the United States’ overall high rate of unintended pregnancy, substantial disparities exist. Research has found that poverty is the primary driving force behind these disparities. THE DISPARITY Lawrence B. Finer and Stanley K. Henshaw’s 2006 study “Disparities in Rates of Unintended Pregnancies in the United States…” sought to identify subgroups of the population in most need of policy reform aimed at improving reproductive health. By combining 2001 data on pregnancy intention with population data, the researchers determined that rates of unintended pregnancy were “substantially above average” for women who were 18-24 years of age, unmarried, low- income, who had not completed high school, and those of minority racial backgrounds. Rates of unintended pregnancy among low-income and less educated women had actually increased from 1994 to 2001, while other groups’ rates fell in the same time period (Finer & Henshaw, 2006). While the Finer and Henshaw study utilized data that is now over 15 years old, it illustrates the trend of how certain adversely affected subgroups of the population, such as low-income and poorly educated women, experience the highest rates of unintended pregnancy. This trend is documented before the Finer and Henshaw study, as well as after. In 2011, women earning less than the federal poverty level experienced an unintended pregnancy rate over 5 times that of those who earned double the federal poverty level (Unintended Pregnancy in the United States, 2016). Frost and Lindberg’s research indicates that birth control use helps women to take better care of their families, support themselves financially, seek or retain a job, and complete their education. These positive outcomes then translate to children growing up in more stable situations and women advancing their social and economic statuses, particularly in the realms of education, labor force participation, and average earnings (Frost & Lindbert, 2013). Autonomy over family