Unmet need for contraception in Vietnam: who needs what and when
Ross, J.A.; Pham, S.B.
Social Biology 44(1-2): 111-123
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 0965-2302 PMID: 9325667 Document Number: 291667
The 1988 National Viet Nam Survey of 3890 married or cohabiting women 15-49 years of age documented an overall unmet need for contraception of 29%. For each sociodemographic category, the analysis distinguished between the distribution of unmet need for women in absolute terms and the percent of all married women of reproductive age having unmet need. Unmet need according to the latter classification system was especially high among women with 1 child (34%), those with a 0-15 month open birth interval (49%), rural women from South Viet Nam (37%), and illiterate women (48%). The greatest unmet need existed among women in the early childbearing stage. Despite the widespread availability of menstrual regulation and induced abortion in Viet Nam, between one-seventh and one-half of women older than 30 had more children than they desired. The most disadvantaged segments of the population had both high percentages and large numbers in need, but the emphasis of the national family planning program on a single contraceptive method restricts their options. A wider method mix would likely reduce the unmet need for contraception among Vietnamese couples.