Contraceptive practices among married women of reproductive age in Bangladesh: a review of the evidence

Abstract

BackgroundBangladesh has experienced a sevenfold increase in its contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) in less than forty years from 8% in 1975 to 62% in 2014. However, despite this progress, almost one-third of pregnancies are still unintended which may be attributed to unmet need for family planning and discontinuation and switching of methods after initiation of their use.MethodsWe conducted an extensive literature review on contraceptive use among married women of reproductive age (MWRA) in Bangladesh. A total of 263 articles were identified through database search and after final screening ten articles were included in this synthesis.ResultsFindings showed that method discontinuation and switching, method failure, and method mix may offset achievements in the CPR. Most of the women know of at least one contraceptive method. Oral pill is the most widely used (27%) method, followed by injectables (12.4%), condoms (6.4%), female sterilization (4.6%), male sterilization (1.2%), implants (1.7%), and IUDs (0.6%). There has been a decline in the use of long acting and permanent methods over the last two decades. Within 12 months of initiation, the rate of method discontinuation particularly the short-acting methods remain high at 36%. It is important to recognize the trends as married Bangladeshi women, on average, wanted 1.6 children, but the rate of actual children was 2.3.ConclusionsA renewed commitment from government bodies and independent organizations is needed to implement and monitor family planning strategies in order to ensure the adherence to and provision of the most appropriate contraceptive method for couples.

Acceptability, side-effects and discontinuation of second and third-generation oral contraceptive pills in Bangladesh: A quasi-experimental study

“…A 2006 study on OCP discontinuation in rural Bangladesh found that women who had consulted a trained worker prior to getting on the pill had a minimum use period of twelve months while women who did not have proper counselling from a trained worker had a minimum use time of one month [5]. A more recent study aimed at identifying the practices that led to unintended pregnancies in Bangladesh, recommended after its ndings, to increase trained eld workers who can ensure distribution of OCP supplies and provide counselling and support for the families, through the family planning program [18].…”

Perception of women towards contraceptive methods: using health belief model

“…• Low (11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21) • Moderate (22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33) • High (34-44) Fourthly, Perceived barriers: It included (11items) from 11-44 and it ranked as follow:…”

Effects of Son Preference on Contraceptive Use in Bangladesh

“…Many studies indicate that the main reason for the high growth rate of the population is the low use of contraceptives, especially in rural areas where the vast majority of the country's population lives. 1,2 This low contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) may be attributed to son preference as well as to a wide variety of social, economic, cultural, and demographic factors. Moreover, the use of contraceptives is affected by gender composition and number of living children in the family.…”