by Carolina Cardona, Dana Sarnak, Alison Gemmill, Peter Gichangi, Mary Thiongo, Philip Anglewicz
Studies in Family Planning, First published 15 July 2024, https://doi.org/10.1111/sifp.12271 (Not open access)
Abstract
Contraceptive preferences are important for reproductive outcomes, such as contraceptive continuation and pregnancy. Current approaches to measuring reproductive preferences in population surveys are limited to exploring only fertility preferences and implicitly assume that contracepting people are using a method they want. We know that people change their fertility preferences over the life course as a response to life events, but there is no information about changes in contraceptive preferences, given the limited evidence about the measurement and distribution of contraceptive preferences. In this study, we examined the extent of change in women’s contraceptive preferences over one year and identified characteristics associated with this change in Kenya using three rounds of nationally representative longitudinal data. Over one year, 18% of contraceptive users and 46% of contraceptive non-users reported changes in their preferred contraceptive. Experiencing a pregnancy or birth and changes in marital status were associated with changes in contraceptive preferences for users and non-users. We found that contraceptive preferences are dynamic, suggesting that family planning programs should ensure people’s access to various methods to respond to women’s changing circumstances and preferences.
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The following articles in other journals are also recommended by Studies in FP, alongside the above abstract/article:
Contraceptive use and reproductive intentions among women requesting contraceptive counseling
Assessing trends in the desire to avoid pregnancy: a cautionary note