Abstract

PIP: A Norwegian investigation from 1987-88 indicated that 25% of the women who were interviewed at a maternity ward stated that their pregnancy had not been planned. That means that 15,000 of the annual total of 60,000 births in Norway are not planned. This is roughly the same figure as the number of abortions (14,000 per year). 93% of women who carry out an unplanned pregnancy have not used contraception according to a 1991 study, but even a 1999 study showed that half of women seeking abortion had not used contraception. A 1994 investigation revealed that only 8% of women in the 20-24 age group did not use contraception and 5% used unsafe methods (coitus interruptus, safe periods, spermicides), while the rest used effective contraceptives (60% used OCs). There are 144,000 women in this age group in Norway, of which 12,000 give birth within a year. In theory the remaining 132,000 would have 2600 pregnancies. In 1996 there were 3883 abortions in this same age group; half of them would originate from that 8% of women who did not use contraception and the other half owing to contraceptive failure. Two studies among students in Oslo in 1997 demonstrated that even if a young woman started using OCs it did not mean that she would continue using them. A number of them discontinued because their relationship with their partner ended, they neglected to visit their doctor, forgot to take their pills, or thought that they could not get pregnant right after stopping OC use.