Trends in the contraceptive practices of women seeking abortions in the 1980s

Abstract

The demographic features and contraceptive practices of 1000 women attending Parkview clinic of Wellington Hospital for termination of pregnancy were studied over an eight month period in 1988-9. Comparisons were made with a previous study at the same clinic in 1980-1. The overall abortion rate has increased from 6.8/1000 women in the Wellington statistical area in 1981 to 9.8 in 1989. The proportion of Pacific Island and Asian women presenting for abortions is high and has increased disproportionately between 1981 and 1989. The abortion rate has also increased in lower socioeconomic groups in 1989. The proportion of women using contraception at the time of conception increased from 50% in 1981 to 68.5% in 1989. The methods used by women presenting for abortion have changed significantly. There has been an increase in the proportion of women using condoms (from 13.3% to 36.2%) and the oral contraceptive pill from (14% to 21.4%).

PIP: Researchers analyzed data from 1000 abortion patients at the Parkview clinic at Wellington Hospital in New Zealand in 1988-1989 to compare them with those of 1000 patients in a comparable survey at the same clinic in 1980-1981. The overall abortion rate rose from 6.8-9.8, even though contraceptive nonuse by abortion patients consistently fell in the 1980s (50% in 1981; 38% in 1983; 31% in 1989). Age specific abortion rates were statistically different (p=.01). Between 1981-1989, the abortion rate fell for women =or- 16 years and increased in the other age groups. Even though most abortion patients were of European descent (64.8%), they were underrepresented when compared to their proportion in the local population (85.7%). Conversely, the women of Pacific Island descent and those of Asian descent were overrepresented. Indeed 13.1% of abortion patients were of Pacific Island descent while they represented only 3.1% of the population and 9.4% of Asians while they made up only 2.5% of the population. In 1989, 69% of abortion patients experienced contraception failure. 31% did not use contraception but 72% of them had used it in the past. In both studies, condoms and oral contraceptives (OCs) were the leading contraceptives. The most significant change in contraceptive behavior of abortion patients in the 1980s was the increase in condom use (13.3-36.2%; p=.0001). This may be attributed to the increased publicity about safe sex and condom use beginning in 1985. Nevertheless many used them incorrectly or inconsistently. OC use increased from 14-21.4%. Contraceptive behavior varied with ethnicity in 1989 (p=.001). For instance, 60.3% of Pacific Islanders did not use contraception at the time of the survey and 44% of them never used one. European and Asian women tended to use condoms while Maori women preferred OCs. Women in the lowers socioeconomic group were more likely to not use a contraceptive compared to other groups (p=.05).