Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T13:13:44.082Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

USING A REPRODUCTIVE LIFE COURSE APPROACH TO UNDERSTAND CONTRACEPTIVE METHOD USE IN AUSTRALIA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 October 2009

EDITH GRAY  and
PETER McDONALD
EDITH GRAY
Affiliation:
Australian Demographic and Social Research Institute, The Australian National University, Australia
PETER McDONALD
Affiliation:
Australian Demographic and Social Research Institute, The Australian National University, Australia
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

This paper examines contraceptive method use at different stages of the reproductive life course. Previous research on contraceptive practice in developed countries typically applies age as a proxy for reproductive history. While age is an essential and useful life course measure for understanding contraceptive use, investigations of contraceptive practice should also consider parity and fertility intentions, as they may be more accurate measures of reproductive life course stage. Analysis is based on data collected in the 2005 Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, a nationally representative sample of women of reproductive age (18–44). For women at risk of pregnancy, the most commonly used methods are easily reversed methods such as the oral contraceptive pill (30%) and condom (23%), medium-term methods such as the intrauterine device and implantation (5%) and permanent methods (7% tubal ligation and 9% vasectomy of partner). Logistic regression models are used to investigate the use of four popular contraceptive methods by parity, age and fertility intentions controlling for socio-demographic factors. The main findings indicate that the use of these methods varies substantially by the stage of a woman's reproductive life course: age, parity and fertility intentions are all associated with method use.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 42 , Issue 1 , January 2010 , pp. 43 - 57
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Banerjee, S. (2006) Higher Education and the Reproductive Life Course: A Cross-Cultural Study of Women in Karnataka (India) and the Netherlands. Dutch University Press, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Caldwell, J., Young, C., Ware, H., Lavis, D. & David, A-T. (1973) Australia: knowledge, attitudes, and practice of family planning in Melbourne, 1971. Studies in Family Planning 4, 49–59.Google Scholar
Elder, G. H. Jr (1983) The life course and aging: challenges, lessons and new directions. In Setterson, R. (ed.) Invitation to the Life Course. Baywood Publishing, New York, pp. 49–71.Google Scholar
Foran, T. (2003) New contraceptive choices across reproductive life. Medical Journal of Australia 178, 616–620.Google Scholar
Goode, A. & Watson, N. (eds) (2007) HILDA User Manual – Release 5.0. University of Melbourne, Melbourne.Google Scholar
Harevan, T. K. (1982) Family Time and Historical Time. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Hosseini-Chavoshi, M. (2007) Fertility regulation in Iran: an analysis of trends, levels and correlates. PhD Thesis, Australian National University, Canberra.Google Scholar
INFO Project (2006) New Attention to the IUD: Expanding Women's Contraceptive Options to Meet Their Needs. Population Reports: Series B, No. 7. Baltimore. URL: http://www.infoforhealth.org/pr/b7/index.shtml.Google Scholar
Khatun, M. (2005) Contraceptive Use Dynamics. Dutch University Press, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research (MIAESR) (2007) HILDA Survey Annual Report 2006. University of Melbourne, Melbourne.Google Scholar
Parr, N. & Siedlecky, S. (2007) Use of ‘dual protection’ and other combinations of contraceptive methods in Australia. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health 31, 567–570.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Richters, J., Grulich, A., de Visser, R., Smith, A. & Rissel, C. (2003) Contraceptive practices among a representative sample of women. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health 27, 210–216.Google Scholar
Santow, G. (1991) Trends in contraception and sterilization in Australia. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 3, 201–208.Google Scholar
Settersten, R. A. (2009) It takes two to tango: the (un)easy dance between life-course sociology and life-span psychology. Advances in Life Course Research 14, 74–81.Google Scholar
Yusuf, F. & Siedlecky, S. (2007) Patterns of contraceptive use in Australia: analysis of the 2001 National Health Survey. Journal of Biosocial Science 39, 735–744.Google Scholar