Publication : Report

Using the 60 months calendar data from the National Family Health Survey-3, this paper examines the reasons of contraceptive discontinuation among spacing method users by socio-economic groups in India. Bi-variate and multivariate analyses and 12 months life table discontinuation rates are used in the analyses. Results suggest that the level of discontinuation was highest among pill users, followed by condom, traditional method and IUD users. Discontinuation of pill is maximum among better educated while that of IUD and condom is maximum among women with 1-5 years of schooling. While discontinuation of condom declines with economic status, it does not show any large variation for pill and IUD. The method failure was maximum among traditional method uses and higher among poor and less educated. The factors associated with the reasons of discontinuation were method choice, age and parity at discontinuation and the intention to use. Based on these findings, it is suggested to improve the quality of modern spacing use, promote counseling for retention of methods and addressing the reduced need and motivate the traditional users to use modern method of contraception to improve health of women.

Information Source : WPS 229 Socio-economic Differentials in Contraceptive Discontinuation in India

• National University of Singapore