Title: Contraceptive practices of women requesting termination of pregnancy: a study from China.

POPLINE Document Number: 120524

Author(s):

Cheng Y
Zhu W
Li Z
Zhang Y
Wang A

Source citation:

CONTRACEPTION, 1997 Jan;55(1):15-7.

Abstract:

A survey of 1520 consecutive Chinese women seeking induced abortion at eight hospitals in Zheng Zhou City, Hunan Province, during March-May 1996 revealed the presence of contraceptive failure in 1093 women (71.9%). The mean age of abortion seekers was 26.9 years; 235 women (15.5%) were unmarried and 871 (57.3%) had no children. 938 (61.7%) of these pregnancies were potentially predictable as a result of nonuse of contraception (427 women) or timely recognition of contraceptive failure (511 women). Condoms accounted for the highest proportion (29.7%) of contraceptive failures, followed by IUD (23.5%), and rhythm (15.9%). 77.1% of abortion seekers had previously used at least one contraceptive method, although only 299 (19.7%) used a method at first intercourse. Overall, 57.6% of contraceptive users had experienced contraceptive failure at some point. In most cases, these failures resulted from user noncompliance (e.g., forgetting to use condoms and missed or delayed pill-taking), suggesting a need for more thorough counseling. Only 10 women (1.1%) had used emergency contraception, but without success. If the remaining 928 women who either had unprotected intercourse or recognized contraceptive failure immediately had used the Yuzpe emergency contraception regimen, about 75% would not have become pregnant. These findings suggest that condom and rhythm users should be targeted for the introduction of an emergency contraception program aimed at reducing the high rate of abortion in China.

Keywords:

China
Surveys
Abortion
Contraception Failure
Fertility Control, Postcoital
Emergency Contraception
Developing Countries
Asia, Eastern
Asia
Sampling Studies
Studies
Research Methodology
Fertility Control, Postconception
Family Planning
Contraceptive Usage
Contraception