Contraceptive Use Dynamics Among Urban Poor Women in India

Abstract

This paper attempts to study the contraceptive use dynamics among urban poor women in three cities of India by women’s background characteristics and determinants by using baseline, representative data from Bhubaneswar, Jaipur and Pune from Health of the Urban Poor survey. Data were collected from 4551 currently married women in Bhubaneswar (1322), Jaipur (1613) and Pune (1416). Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses are used to examine the influence of background characteristics on family planning use and unmet need for family planning. The analysis revealed that, more than 7 out of 10 women in Pune and Jaipur and half of women in Bhubaneswar used any method of family planning. More than four-fifths of ever users in Bhubaneswar, 6 out of 10 ever users in Jaipur and 8 out of 10 ever users in Pune used contraception for the first time when they had two or fewer children. The predominance of sterilisation is observed among large majority of users of family planning in three cities. The spacing is not very common but most of the contraceptives uses are for limiting family size. There are no differentials in use of any modern method of family planning both in slum and non-slum areas. The slum women are more likely to be sterilized than to use other modern spacing and any traditional method. Age of the women and educational levels of women have a significant effect on the use of contraception. Therefore, these aspects may be given due attention while framing family planning programme. The unmet need for family planning is higher in Bhubaneswar than in Jaipur and Pune. The unmet need for family planning is relatively high among women living in non-slum areas than slum areas. Programs seeking to target the urban poor in three cities and elsewhere in India may be better served to identify the less educated women and younger women and target these women with appropriate family planning messages and methods that meet their current and future fertility desire needs.