Contraceptive Use Among Unmarried Women in Indonesia: A National Survey

Abstract

The Indonesian norm considers a pregnant but unmarried woman as a disgrace, and such a situation can influence women's decision to use contraceptives. This research aimed to analyze contraceptive use among unmarried women in Indonesia. We employed the 2017 Indonesian Demographic Health Survey data. The analysis unit in this study was unmarried women of childbearing age (15-49), and we analyzed 5,444 respondents. The study used contraceptive use as a dependent variable and analyzed seven independent variables: residence, age, marital, education, employment, parity, and wealth. The study used a multivariable binary logistic regression for the final stage. Unmarried women living in urban areas are 1.591 (95% CI 1.183-2.141) times more likely to use contraceptives than unmarried women living in rural areas. Unmarried women aged 15-19 were more likely to use contraceptives than those the 35-39 and 40-44. All categories by education are more likely to use contraception than those without education. Unmarried women with more than one child are more likely to use contraceptives than unmarried women who have one child or do not have a child. Wealth status affects contraceptive use among unmarried women in Indonesia. The study concluded that five variables influence contraceptive use among unmarried women in Indonesia: the place of living, age, education, parity, and wealth. The novelty of this study is information about the use of contraceptives by unmarried women. The previous information was more frequent about the use of contraceptives in couples.