Unmet Need for Family Planning among Urban and Rural Married Women in Yangon Region, Myanmar—a Cross-Sectional Study

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 16; no. 19; p. 3742
• Main Authors: Wai, Myint Myint, Bjertness, Espen, Stigum, Hein, Htay, Thein Thein, Liabsuetrakul, Tippawan, Moe Myint, Aye Nyein, Sundby, Johanne
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 04.10.2019; MDPI
• Subjects: Abortion; Adolescent; Adult; Birth control; Censuses; Contraception - methods; Contraception Behavior - statistics & numerical data; Cross-Sectional Studies; Data collection; Family planning; Family Planning Services; Female; Health Services Needs and Demand; Households; Humans; Myanmar; Polls & surveys; Population; Pregnancy; Public sector; Rural areas; Rural Population; Sex Education; Urban Population; Womens health; Young Adult; Myanmar; Myanmar (Burma); unmet need for family planning; contraceptives; satisfaction; demand; urban and rural women
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16193742

Despite increasing contraceptive use and prevalence, many women who want to avoid or delay pregnancy are not using contraceptives. This results in unintended pregnancies, which increases the risk of unsafe abortions. This study aimed to explore the extent of the unmet need for family planning (FP) among urban and rural married women in Myanmar and their demand for and satisfaction with FP. A cross-sectional survey using adapted Demographic and Health surveys questions was conducted in south and north Yangon from September 2016 to November 2016. A total of 1100 currently married women of 18–49 years participated. The contraceptive prevalence was 67.2% in total, 63% urban, and 70% rural. About 19.4% (95% CI: 16.7%–22.4%) of the studied women had an unmet need for FP, significantly higher in urban than rural women (22.6% versus 16.6%). Rural women also showed significant lesser odds (adjusted OR: 0.63; 95% CI: 0.461–0.849) of unmet need than the urban counterparts. About 86% of the women had demand for contraception and 77% of them satisfied their demand. The study population revealed a fairly good contraceptive coverage; however, a considerable proportion of women had an unmet need for FP, especially the urban women. The demand for contraception is increasing, and contraceptive services need to expand coverage to marginalized groups in order to reduce the risk of unsafe abortions.