Prevalence of birth control
Globally approximately 45% of those who are married and able to have children use contraception.[1] As of 2007, IUDs were used by about 17% of women of child bearing age in developing countries and 9% in developed countries or more than 180 million women worldwide.[2] Avoiding sex when fertile is used by about 3.6% of women of childbearing age, with usage as high as 20% in areas of South America.[3] As of 2005, 12% of couples are using a male form of contraception (either condoms or a vasectomy) with rates of up to 30% in the developed world.[4]
As of 2012, 57% of women of child bearing age wanted to avoid pregnancy (867 of 1520 million).[5] About 222 million women however were not able to access birth control, 53 million of whom were in sub-Saharan Africa and 97 million of whom were in Asia.[5] Many countries limit access to birth control due to religious and political reasons.[6]
Africa
Contraceptive use among women in Sub-Saharan Africa has risen from about 5% in 1991 to about 30% in 2006.[7] However, due to extreme poverty, lack of access to birth control, and restrictive abortion laws, many women still resort to clandestine abortion providers for unintended pregnancy, resulting in about 3% obtaining unsafe abortions each year.[8][9] South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe have successful family planning programs, but other central and southern African countries continue to encounter extreme difficulties in achieving higher contraceptive prevalence and lower fertility for a wide variety of compounding reasons.[10]
China
The
Beginning January 1, 2016, China officially abolished the one-child policy. The Chinese government decided to allow families to have a second child to supposedly grow a bigger work force and allow the aging population to relax more. They predict that another economic boom will occur in the near future. The new policy was also seen as a solution to the massive gender disparity, with China's current population leaning heavily toward males. There are no concrete estimates for the new rate of growth of the Chinese population, but there are testimonies from the citizens about their new freedom. Some mothers have said that they are excited at the opportunity of having another child, while others still follow the one child tradition.[13]
India
Awareness of contraception is near-universal among married women in India.[14] However, the vast majority of married Indians (76% in a 2009 study) reported significant problems in accessing a choice of contraceptive methods.[15] In 2009, 48.3% of married women were estimated to use a contraceptive method, i.e. more than half of all married women did not.[15] About three-fourths of these were using female sterilization, which is by far the most prevalent birth-control method in India.[15] Condoms, at a mere 3%, were the next most prevalent method.[15] Meghalaya, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh had the lowest usage of contraception among all Indian states with rates below 30%.[15]
Pakistan
In 2011 just one in five Pakistani women aged 15 to 49 used modern birth control.
United Kingdom
Contraception has been available for free under the
United States
As of 2008, in the United States, 99% of sexually active women have used birth control at some point in time.[19] In 2015-2017, 64.9% of women aged 15-49 used a form of birth control. The most common forms of birth control were female sterilization (18.6%), oral contraceptive pills (12.6%), long-acting reversible contraceptives (10.3%), and male condoms (8.7%).[20] Despite the availability of highly effective contraceptives, in 2011, 45% of pregnancies were unintended.[21] In 2002, contraceptive use saved about $19 billion in direct medical costs.[22]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-60831-610-6.)
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ISBN 9781608316106.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ISBN 978-1-60831-610-6.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - S2CID 40507937.
- ^ S2CID 8257042.
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- ^ PMID 16162890.
- ^ Buckley, Chris (29 October 2015). "China Ends One-Child Policy, Allowing Families Two Children". The New York Times.
- ^ B.M. Ramesh; S.C. Gulati; R.D. Retherford. "Contraceptive use in India, 1992–93" (PDF). National Family Health Survey Subject Reports, Number 2, October 1996. International Institute for Population Sciences. Retrieved 2009-11-25.
- ^ a b c d e "India and Family Planning: An Overview" (PDF). Department of Family and Community Health, World Health Organization. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-12-21. Retrieved 2009-11-25.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ a b Brulliard, Karin (15 December 2011). "As Pakistan's population soars, contraceptives remain a hard sell". The Washington Post. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f Hardee, Karen and Leahy, Elizabeth. "Population, Fertility and Family Planning in Pakistan: A Program in Stagnation." Population Action International. Volume 4, Number 1, 1-12. 2007.
- ^ PMID 17911129.
- ^ "Contraceptive Methods Women Have Ever Used: United States, 1982–2010" (PDF). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — National Center for Health Statistics. February 14, 2013. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
- ^ "Current Contraceptive Status Among Women Aged 15–49: United States, 2015–2017". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2022-10-31. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
- PMID 26962904.
- PMID 17303484.