Fertility intentions, contraceptive use and unmet need for family planning among women of reproductive age in three rural districts of Tanzania

This paper utilizes data collected in 2011 from a randomized cluster survey conducted in three rural districts in Tanzania to examine whether women who reported use of contraceptives did so for the purposes of stopping or spacing childbirth. A total of 3,211 women were interviewed on reproductive and child health related issues, including fertility and family planning behavior. Women were asked if they would like to have any more children and if so at what time. Pregnant women were asked about the intentionality of their pregnancy. The analysis will tabulate bivariate relationships between relevant independent and dependent variables and develop a multinomial logit model examining the determinants of respondent classification into a five category polytomous outcome variable, on the implementation of reproductive preferences conditional on various independent variables. Analysis is ongoing and current results are tentative. The contraceptive prevalence rate in the study area mirrors the national measure obtained through the 2010 DHS. While the majority of met need amongst users is motivated by desire to space pregnancies, limiting is the dominant motivation amongst women reporting an unmet need for family planning. Implications for reproductive health programs and policies in Tanzania are reviewed and discussed.