Fertility, family planning, and reproductive health of U.S. women: data from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth

Abstract

Objective: This report presents national estimates of fertility, family planning, and reproductive health indicators among females 15-44 years of age in the United States in 2002 from Cycle 6 of the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). For selected indicators, data are also compared with earlier cycles of the NSFG.

Methods: Descriptive tables of numbers and percentages are presented and interpreted. Data were collected through in-person interviews of the household population 15-44 years of age in the United States between March 2002 and March 2003. The sample included 7,643 females and 4,928 males, and this report focuses on data from the female sample. The overall response rate for the Cycle 6 NSFG was 79 percent, and the response rate for women was 80 percent.

Results: Given the range of topics covered in the report, only selected findings are listed here. About 14 percent of recent births to women 15-44 years of age in 2002 were unwanted at time of conception, an increase from the 9 percent seen for recent births in 1995. Among recent births, 64 percent occurred within marriage, 14 percent within cohabiting unions, and 21 percent to women who were neither married nor cohabiting. The overall rate of breastfeeding initiation among recent births increased from 55 to 67 percent between 1995 and 2002. About 50 percent of women 15-44 had ever cohabited compared with 41 percent of women in the 1995 survey; the percentage of women currently cohabiting also increased, from 7 to 9 percent between 1995 and 2002.