Contraceptive Use among Bolivian Women

Iuri C. Leite, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública (FIOCRUZ)
Roberto Nascimento Rodrigues, Centro de Desenvolvimento e Planejamento Regional (CEDEPLAR)
Moises Alberto Calle Aguirre, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte

Despite the investments and advances in the area of reproductive health, the prevalence of contraceptive methods, one of the main proximate determinants of the fertility decline in Bolivia, has been increasing slowly from 45% in 1994 to 58%, in 2003. In addition, according to the 2003 Demographic and Health Survey, about 40% of all married women rely on traditional methods. Among the modern methods, the Intrauterine Device is the most prevalent (10.2%) followed by injections, the method whose prevalence increased substantially in recent years, from 1% in 1998 to 8% in 2003. In spite of being an instigating case, very few studies on contraceptive dynamics have focused on the Bolivian context. Therefore, the objective of the present study is to identify factors associated with the use of contraceptive methods in Bolivia. We believe that the results of this study could be of great importance for implementation of women’s health policy.