QuickStats: Use of Selected Contraceptive Methods by Married Women of Childbearing Age in the United States, 2006--2008, Compared with Married Women in Selected Countries with Low Fertility Rates,* 2000--2008

QuickStats: Use of Selected Contraceptive Methods by Married Women of Childbearing Age in the United States, 2006--2008, Compared with Married Women in Selected Countries with Low Fertility Rates,* 2000--2008
Weekly
July 23, 2010 / 59(28);879



* France, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom. These countries were selected because they have birth rates and abortion rates lower than the United States and because they have comparable data on contraception among married women from a large national survey. Data are from a United Nations compilation of national survey data. Results are based on large samples and are adjusted to national totals in each country. Additional information is available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_029.pdf . Low fertility is defined as a total fertility rate (TFR) of ≤2.1. TFR is the average number of births per woman, based on current age-specific birth rates. In 2006, the TFR in the United States was approximately 2.1 children per woman A TFR of 2.1 is the replacement value of a population (i.e., the rate, without migration, at which the number of persons in a population would be stable).

† Intrauterine device.

§ Data not available on use of male and female sterilization in France in 2000.

Among countries with low fertility (total fertility rates of ≤2.1), a higher percentage of married women of childbearing age in the United States rely on female sterilization (24%) as their method of contraception, compared with women in other countries (range: 4%--9%). Women in France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom are more likely to rely on oral contraception (29%--44%) than women in the United States (16%). Women in France use the IUD (22%) to a greater extent than women in the United States (5%), whereas the male condom is used by partners of approximately 25% of married women in Spain and the United Kingdom, nearly twice the percentage found in the United States.

Source: Mosher WD, Jones J. Use of contraception in the United States: 1982--2008. Vital Health Stat 2010;23(29). Available at
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_029.pdf .

Alternate Text: The figure above shows the use of selected contraceptive methods by married women of childbearing age in the United States, 2006-2008, compared with married women in selected countries with low fertility rates from 2000-2008. Among countries with low fertility (total fertility rates of ≤2.1), a higher percentage of married women of childbearing age in the United States rely on female sterilization (24%) as their method of contraception, compared with women in other countries (range: 4%-9%). Women in France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom are more likely to rely on oral contraception (29%-44%) than women in the United States (16%). Women in France use the IUD (22%) to a greater extent than women in the United States (5%), whereas the male condom is used by partners of approximately 25% of married women in Spain and the United Kingdom, nearly twice the percentage found in the United States.
QuickStats: Use of Selected Contraceptive Methods by Married Women of Childbearing Age in the United States, 2006--2008, Compared with Married Women in Selected Countries with Low Fertility Rates,* 2000--2008