No contraceptive use and unmet needs among married women in Shanghai, China

A family planning survey was conducted in Shanghai in 2011 to investigate contraceptive use and non-use among married women aged between 15 and 49. A total of 21907 participants were randomly selected and interviewed by trained field workers. Findings show that 19.3% of participants did not use any contraceptive method. Among them, 39% were due to wanting a baby, or being pregnant or breastfeeding. Divorce accounts for 23% of all non-users; infertility and menopause 18%, widows and living apart 7%, unmet needs 12% (including concerns of side-effects, health reasons, partners’ objection, etc). The prevalence of non-contraceptive use ranges from 15.7% to 27.1% between categories of district’s characteristics. The likelihood of non-use is associated with women’s age, education, type of work unit, the nature and location of women’s Hukou, family income, number of children and ideal family size. Proportions of unmet needs vary between individual’s characteristics, ranging from 4% to 27%. The older and less educated women were more likely to experience unmet needs. Family income and number of children were also important determinants of unmet needs. It can be concluded that non-contraceptive use in Shanghai was due mainly to intended pregnancy. However, some gaps of unmet needs still should be bridged.