Patterns and trends in contraceptive use dynamics in the Philippines: 1993-2008

In the Philippines, less than half of currently married women use a contraceptive method, a level which has remained stagnant in the past ten years. To get a clearer understanding of the contraceptive behavior of Filipino women, the study examines the changes in the patterns of contraceptive discontinuation and switching behavior over time using data from the 1993, 1998, 2003 and 2008 Philippine Demographic Health Surveys. The data show a decline in discontinuation for all methods except for withdrawal. Nearly half of discontinuations of rhythm and withdrawal are due to unintended pregnancy while side effects is the most common reason for discontinuing use of pills, IUD and injectables. Younger women (<30 years old), poor women, and less empowered women exhibited higher discontinuation rates than their counterparts. Results also show an upward pattern in the switching rates to modern methods regardless of the method of origin. Switching rates to modern methods are higher than the switching rates to traditional methods in all subgroups of women regardless of the initial method. The findings suggest the need to encourage women to maintain their contraceptive use particularly of modern methods and to focus efforts on the identified subgroups of women with higher risk of unintended pregnancies.