The realization of family planning in Finland with particular reference to development in the 1970's

Abstract

In the 1977 Finnish Fertility Survey conducted as part of the World Fertility Survey a national sample of 5449 currently married women aged 15-44 were interviewed. The data collected in 1977 was compared to data collected in a 1971 survey in an effort to identify trends in fertility planning. Trends toward increased contraceptive knowledge and toward greater usage of effective contraceptive methods were identified. These trends were accompanied by a corresponding decrease in the proportion of unplanned pregnancies and a closer approximation between ideal and actual family size. In other words progress toward the realization of family planning goals was observed during the period 1971-1977. In 1971 3% of the surveyed women had no knowledge of contraception. In 1977 only 0.2% of the respondents lacked contraceptive knowledge. In 1971 the most common methods were withdrawal (OCs) oral contraceptives and condoms. During the period 1971-1977 the % of women who relied on withdrawal and OCs declined markedly the % who used condoms remained the same and the % who used IUDs increased considerably. In the 1977 study respondents were assigned to 1 of 9 categories on the basis of their level of need satifaction or their general level of social and economic well-being. These groups differed little in regard to contraceptive usage. The 1971 survey indicated 10% of the 1st 4 pregnancies for women aged 18-54 were unwanted and 38% occurred earlier than desired. For births occurring between 1972-1977 only 6% of the 1st 4 pregnancies were unwanted. Findings suggested that actual birth intervals were shorter than ideal birth intervals. In 1977 women aged 40-44 had an average of 2.7 children and their mean ideal number of children was 2.7. A table provided data on contraceptive usage by respondents level of need satifaction.