Modern Contraceptive Use among Married Adolescent Girls in Bangladesh
Bangladesh ranks second in the world for greatest number of pregnancies by age 18. Modern contraceptive use among married adolescent girls is low at 47%, whereas the rate of unintended pregnancy is high at 21%. The United Nations and the Government of Bangladesh have indicated that provision of adolescent-friendly reproductive health services is a critical next step in family planning programming.
In this research by Kristin Lynn Johnson from Boston University School of Public Health, applied mixed methods to determine factors that influence modern contraceptive use among married adolescent girls in Bangladesh. Data were collected in Khulna division where total fertility is low and in Sylhet division where total fertility is high.
The study found that contrary to expectations, contraceptive use was associated with continuing education after marriage, rather than access to family planning services, or the female anatomy. These associations were robust to the inclusion of common correlates of contraceptive use, including: girl’s awareness of emergency contraception, older age at first sex, younger age, girl’s preference for more
children, termination of pregnancy, husband’s desire for fewer children than the girl,
marriage to a husband 30 years of age or greater, and wealth. Health workers’ personal biases against adolescents’ contraceptive use, and the belief that hormonal contraceptives cause infertility are barriers to service provision and contraceptive use among adolescents.
Picture: UNICEF