Contraceptive use Behavior among Vietnamese Unmarried young Women Seeking Pregnancy Termination

บทคัดย่อ

This cross-sectional descriptive study aimed to describe contraceptive use behavior, levels of perceived risks of getting pregnant, benefits and barriers to contraceptives use, social influences (support from parents, peers and sexual partners), contextual factors (appropriate age for first sex,relationship length, relationship commitment, and sexual coercion), and demographic backgrounds of 200 unmarried young women who came to a hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam for a follow-up examination after having had an abortion during June to July 2013. Results showed that only 10.5% had used contraceptive regularly but unreliable methods such as emergency contraception, withdrawal and periodic abstinence. The first three methods that the subjects preferred; yet used only sometimes,were condoms (28.5%), emergency contraception (23.5%) and periodic abstinence (14.5%). The women reported a high level of perceived barriers of using contraceptives, especially fear of side effects, while a moderate level was found with regards to perceived risks of getting pregnant, perceived benefits of using contraceptives and social influences. Regarding contextual factors, women who have been with their sexual partner for less than 1 year, those who have previously discussed marriage and those who have been forced to have sex, reported decreased contraceptive use. Interestingly, despite a high educational level, 47.5 % of the women indicated the need to seek partner approval for their contraceptive use. These findings indicates that the intervention to reduce unplanned pregnancy should include education programs/strategies to strengthen young women’s perception about the risks of getting pregnant and male involvement which will lead to more effective contraceptive use.