Unplanned Pregnancies Cost the US $21 Billion a Year

A shocking new report reveals that 38 percent of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, costing $21 billion.  

The report was published by the Guttmacher Institute. The report is based on statistical information for the year 2010, which was the year for which data was both the most recent and complete.

The reports figure of $21 billion found was based on prenatal care, birthing, and post-partum care as well as abortion and miscarriages. Of that $21 billion, 68 percent of the cost was paid for by public insurance programs like Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.

The report discovered a relationship between public spending and whether or not a pregnancy was planned. For example, while 68 percent of unplanned pregnancies were paid for with public funds, only 51 percent of all pregnancies were paid for with public funds, and only 38 percent of planned births relied on public funding.

The states most reliant on public funding to pay for births were found in the South, with seven of the states in the top 9 for public spending on births.

Guttmacher says that without investment in family planning and other contraceptive measures, the figure of $21 billion could have reached as high as $36.8 billion. The institute contends that family planning created $15.8 billion in savings.

Guttmacher notes that a major reason for such a large amount of publicly funded pregnancies were reforms passed in the 1980s that made it easier for pregnant women to qualify for Medicaid. For example, in 1985, Medicaid paid for 15 percent of US births. By 1991, that figure had more than doubled to 32 percent.

The report says that given these trends, the best way to get public spending brought about by unplanned pregnancy under control is to invest more in family planning education and increasing access to birth control.