Intended Contraceptive Use Among Women Without an Unmet Need

This study examined the number of women with unmet need who do not intend to use and women with no unmet need who do intend to use a contraceptive method in 25 developing countries. Data are aggregated at the regional level and were obtained from recent Demographic and Health Surveys. The sample included 2060 women with unmet need of whom 65% intended to use contraception and 2918 women without unmet need of whom 68% intended to use a method. Almost equal numbers (around 1000) from both groups of women intended to use contraception within the next 12 months. Women without unmet need who intended to use contraception outnumbered women with unmet need at a ratio of about 2.7:1. This ratio is charted for each of the 25 countries by timing of intended use. The ratios were the highest at 4.0 for Colombia and Zimbabwe. Six countries ranged in the next to highest group from 1.7 to 1.9. 15 countries exceeded 1.0 which indicates that intended users who were not in need exceeded those with unmet need who did not intend to use. In 3 countries at least 50% more women intended to use soon compared to those who never intended to use. Most women intended to use sooner rather than later. Women who desired no more children were different from spacers and those without unmet need. Spacers and those without unmet need were very similar. About 40% of both these groups of women were aged 15-24 years of age and about 7 out of 10 women had 3 or fewer children. Both of the aforementioned groups had about 55-56% saying that they never used a method. Women who desired birth limitation tended to be older and had larger families. 19-37% of women practicing contraception for spacing would be expected to terminate use annually. Findings suggest that program assistance would be relevant for most women who intend to use a method for spacing or limiting or with no unmet need.