Md. Unintended Pregnancy Rate Drops, But Remains Higher Than National Average

Maryland’s rate of unintended pregnancies declined during the last decade, but more than half of all pregnancies in the state are still unplanned, according to estimates released this month.

The percent of unintended pregnancies in Maryland dropped from 60% to 56% between 2002 and 2008 – a 4 percentage point decrease – according to the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit organization that seeks to advance sexual and reproductive health.

Despite the decline, Maryland’s percent of unintended pregnancies remained 5% higher than the national average. In 2008, the most recent year for which detailed data was available, 49% of the pregnancies in the United States were unintended.
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