Primary Contraceptive Methods Among Women Aged 15–44 Years
United States, 2002 

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report v.54, n.6, 18feb2005

In 2002, the most frequent contraceptive method among women aged 15–44 years was oral contraception. Other leading methods were female sterilization and the male condom. A smaller, but significant, number of women were using the newer, long-acting hormonal methods, including injectables, implants, and the patch. Additional information is available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsfg.htm.

Source: CDC. Use of contraception and use of family planning services in the United States, 1982–2002. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad350.pdf, some of which is below.

Use of Contraception and Use of Family Planning Services in the United States: 1982–2002

By William D. Mosher, Ph.D.; Gladys M. Martinez, Ph.D.; Anjani Chandra, Ph.D.; Joyce C. Abma, Ph.D.; and Stephanie J. Willson, Ph.D., Division of Vital Statistics

Abstract

Objective—This report presents national estimates of contraceptive use and method choice based on the 1982, 1995, and 2002 National Surveys of Family Growth (NSFG). It also presents data on where women obtained family planning and medical services, and some of the services that they received.

Methods—Data were collected through in-person interviews with 12,571 men and women 15–44 years of age in the civilian noninstitutional population of the United States in 2002. This report is based on the sample of 7,643 women interviewed in 2002. The response rate for women in the study was about 80 percent.

Results—The leading method of contraception in the United States in 2002 was the oral contraceptive pill, used by 11.6 million women; the second leading method was female sterilization, used by 10.3 million women. The condom was the third-leading method, used by about 9 million women and their partners. The condom is the leading method at first intercourse; the pill is the leading method among women under 30; and female sterilization is the leading method among women 35 and older.

More than 98 percent of women 15–44 years of age who have ever had sexual intercourse with a male (referred to as ‘‘sexually experienced women’’) have used at least one contraceptive method. Over the 20 years from 1982 to 2002, the percent who had ever had a partner who used the male condom increased from 52 to 90 percent. The proportion who had ever had a partner who used withdrawal increased from 25 percent in 1982 to 56 percent in 2002. Another important measure of contraceptive use is use at the first premarital intercourse: before 1980, only 43 percent of women (or their partner) used a method of birth control at their first premarital intercourse. By 1999–2002, the proportion using a method at first premarital intercourse had risen to 79 percent.

Keywords: contraceptive use • birth control • family planning services • National Survey of Family Growth • National Center for Health Statistics.

Highlights

• Contraceptive use in the United States is virtually universal among women of reproductive age: 98 percent of all women who had ever had intercourse had used at least one contraceptive method. In 2002, 90 percent had ever had a partner who used the male condom, 82 percent had ever used the oral contraceptive pill, and 56 percent had ever had a partner who used withdrawal.
• The leading method of contraception in the United States in 2002 was the oral contraceptive pill. It was being used by 11.6 million women 15–44 years of age; it had ever been used by 44.5 million women 15–44 years of age. The second leading method was female sterilization, used by 10.3 million women. The pill and female sterilization have been the two leading methods in the United States since 1982.
• Between 1982 and 2002, the percentage of women who had ever had a partner using the male condom rose from 52 percent in 1982 to 90 percent in 2002. The percent whose partner had ever used withdrawal increased from 25 to 56 percent between 1982 and 2002 (figure 1). In contrast, the percentage who had ever used the Today sponge™, intrautrine device (the IUD), the Diaphragm, calendar rhythm, and spermicidal foam decreased between 1995 and 2002.
• Non-Hispanic Black or African American women and Hispanic or Latina women were somewhat less likely to have ever used the oral contraceptive pill than non-Hispanic white women, but these groups were more likely than white women to have used the 3-month injectable contraceptive called Depo-Proveray (figure 2).
• The percentage of women who used a method of contraception at their first premarital intercourse increased from 43 percent in the 1970s to 79 percent in 1999–2002 (figure 3).Most of this increase was due to an increase in use of the male condom at first premarital intercourse, from 22 percent in the 1970s to 67 percent in 1999–2002, although use of the pill also increased.
• About 62 percent of the 61.6 million women 15–44 years of age—5 out of 8—were currently using contraception in 2002. Most of those who were not using contraception were currently pregnant, trying to become pregnant, sterile for medical (noncontraceptive) reasons, unable to conceive, or had not had intercourse recently (or ever) (figure 4).
• The percentage of all women 15–44 who were sexually active and not using contraception increased from 5.4 percent in 1995 to 7.4 percent in 2002. This represents an apparent increase of 1.43 million women between 1995 and 2002, and could raise the rate of unintended pregnancy, particularly among women 20 years of age and over, and black women.
• Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic women were more likely to use female sterilization as a method of contraception than Non-Hispanic white women, but white women were more likely to rely on male sterilization (figure 5). But considering male and female sterilization together, about the same percentage of all three groups in figure 5 were using sterilization: 23–24 percent of each group.
• Some of the tables in this report show data on contraceptive choice among the 38 million women 15–44 years of age who were using contraception (‘‘contraceptors’’) in 2002. These data show that female sterilization is the leading method choice among those 35–44 years of age. At age 20–24 years, 4 percent of contraceptors were using female sterilization compared with 50 percent at 40–44 years of age (figure 6).
• The percentage of contraceptors using the pill in 2002 ranged from 53 percent among contraceptors 15–19 years of age to 11 percent among contraceptors 40–44 years of age (figure 7).
• The percentage of contraceptors 22–44 years of age who chose female sterilization as a method of birth control varied sharply by education. Female sterilization accounts for 55 percent of users without a high school degree in 2002 compared with just 13 percent of contraceptors with a 4-year college degree (figure 8).
• While contraceptors with less education tend to rely on female sterilization, contraceptors with more education tend to rely on the oral contraceptive pill: just 11 percent of contraceptors without a high school degree used the pill in 2002, compared with 42 percent of contraceptors with a 4-year college degree (figure 9).
• This report also shows the extent of use of the condom with other methods of birth control. About 10 percent of never married women had a partner who was using male condoms as their most effective method of contraception in 2002, but another 7 percent were using condoms along with a more effective method—such as the pill or Depo-Provera—so a total of 17 percent were using the condom (figure 10). Among married women, however, this kind of combination use was much less common (figure 10).
• Very few women rely on their partners to use withdrawal as their most effective method of contraception (only 3 percent). However, it appears that withdrawal is used as an occasional back-up method by some married and cohabiting couples and by the partners of some never married women (figure 11).
• About 42 percent of women 15–44 years of age received one or more family planning-related medical services from a medical care provider in the 12 months before the 2002 survey. The pattern of use of these services by age closely coincides with the pattern of oral contraceptive use by age: 63 percent of women 20–24 years of age and 20 percent of women 40–44 used such services in the year before the survey (figure 12).
• The percentage of women 15–44 years of age who used family planning services in the last 12 months increased from 33 percent in 1995 to 42 percent in 2002. About 29 percent of females 15–19 years of age received some family planning services in 1995 compared with 40 percent in 2002. Increases also occurred in other age groups.
• More than 34 million of the 61.6 million women 15–44 years of age (56 percent) visited private doctors for family planning or related medical services in 2002, and nearly 13.5 million (22 percent) used publicly funded clinics. One important part of the public clinic system is the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Title X family planning program. This program served an estimated 4.2 million women in the 12 months before the 1995 survey, and an estimated 5.4 million in the 12 months before the 2002 survey.

source: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad350.pdf 17feb2005