Contraception matters: indicators of poor usage of contraception in sexually active women attending family planning clinics in Victoria, Australia

Abstract

BackgroundUnintended pregnancy (mistimed or unwanted) remains an important health issue for women. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of and factors associated with risk of unintended pregnancy in a sample of Victorian women attending family planning clinics.MethodsThis cross-sectional survey of three Family Planning Victoria Clinics from April to July 2011 recruited women aged 16-50 years with a male sexual partner in the last 3 months, and not intending to conceive. The questionnaire asked about contraceptive behaviours and important factors that influence contraception use (identified from a systematic literature review). Univariate analysis was calculated for the variables of interest for associations with contraceptive use. An overall multivariate model for being at risk for unintended pregnancy (due to inconsistent or ineffective contraceptive use or non-use) was calculated through backward elimination with statistical significance set at <0.05.Results1006 surveys were analyzed with 96% of women reporting contraception use in the last 3 months. 37% of women were at risk for unintended pregnancy due to imperfect use (61% inconsistent users; 31% ineffective methods) or never using contraception (8%). On multivariate analysis, women at risk for unintended pregnancy compared with women not at risk were <25 years old (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.2-2.7); had no university/postgraduate degree (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.2-2.4); and had >1 partner in the last 3 months (OR 3.2, 95% CI 2.3-4.6). These women were dissatisfied with current contraception (OR 2.5, 95% 1.8-3.5); felt “vulnerable” to pregnancy (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.6-3.0); were not confident in contraceptive knowledge (OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.5-4.8); were unable to stop to use contraception when aroused (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.5-2.9) but were comfortable in speaking to a doctor about contraception (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.1-4.1).ConclusionDespite reported high contraceptive usage, nearly 40% of women were at risk for unintended pregnancy primarily due to inconsistent contraceptive use and use of ineffective contraception. Strategies for improving consistency of effective contraception use or greater emphasis on long-acting contraception may be needed for certain subpopulations at higher risk for unintended pregnancy.

Contraceptive Utilisation Among Mothers of Reproductive Age in Ajman, United Arab Emirates

“…24 It is possible that less educated women have fewer educational and career-oriented aspirations and have lower levels of understanding of their health as compared to more educated women. 25 Employment status and contraceptive use were not found to be significantly associated in the present study. This is contrary to findings from Saudi Arabia, where contraceptive use was reportedly four times higher among working women.…”

Acceptance and Positive Attitude Increased Utilization of Long Acting and Permanent Family Planning Methods Among Reproductive Age Group Women from Debre Berhan District, Ethiopia: Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis

“…IUD were the most extensively used LAPMs around the world but in this study it was the reverse and very low. Even if, IUD can provide effective protection for up to 10 years and might be used as alternative to sterilization for women who may regret after tubal ligation, it was low with this study [16][17][18]. The reasons for not to use IUD in the town were fear of side effect, loss of privacy during insertion and thought that IUD reduces daily activities which was supported from qualitative finding.…”

Parents’ Experiences of Early Parenthood – Preliminary Findings

“…Parenthood comes as a surprise for many, but for others it is a planned and highly anticipated event (Ong, Temple-Smith, Wong, McNamee, & Fairley, 2012). Some of the first-time parents here romanticised parenthood, but their unrealistic expectations became apparent to them very early on, as they came to terms with the reality they now faced.…”