Unmet Needs for Contraception in Mexico: Analysis of Recent Trends and Persistent Regional Differences

In Mexico, despite the overall increase in contraceptive use among women in reproductive ages (68.5% in 1997 and 72.5% in 2009); there are no in-depth studies of regional differences and changes over time.
The study shows regionally unmet needs for contraception of married women of reproductive age and changes between 1997 and 2009, using logistic regression models with information from national surveys.The regionalization identifies nine forms of exclusion measured as a percentage of the population that does not participate in the enjoyment of essential goods and services.
The proportion of women with unmet needs for contraception in 1997 was 12.2% and 9.8% in 2009. For both years (1997 and 2009), women with higher unmet needs are those belonging to the age group 15-19 years (27% and25%). Indigenous language speakers (26% and 21%), those living in rural areas (22% and 26%). Disparities persist on women with lower educational attainment (22% and 17%) and living in highly marginalized regions. It is concluded that there were no changes in the levels of women's unmet needs between the twelve years of study, after controlling certain socio-demographic variables. Changes showed are due to larger population groups with lower unmet needs for contraception in 2009.