Previous studies have suggested that current measures of
pregnancy intention do not adequately capture emotional
and psychological aspects of pregnancy intention [15, 19].
In our study investigating pregnancy intention among
adolescents, we took a broad approach to pregnancy
intention and delineated two significant dimensions of
intention representing emotional readiness and planning.
The dimensions were distilled into accessible component
questions that have the potential to be used in clinical
settings after they have been further evaluated. While
neither of these dimensions of pregnancy intention were
statistically associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes in
our cohort, we did observe significant associations between
our pregnancy intention metrics and known risk factors for
poor outcomes. Of the two dimensions of pregnancy
intention we assessed, emotional readiness was more
strongly associated with risk factors for adverse pregnancy
outcomes. Pregnant teens identified as not emotionally
ready were at increased risk for delayed prenatal care,