Fewer Indians using contraception, despite awareness

India has a growing population of 1.2 billion, but fewer Indians are using contraceptives than they were a decade ago, according to an analysis of government health data, reports IANS.

In 10 of 14 states surveyed, use of any modern method of family planning, among women of child bearing age (15 to 49), decreased 6 per cent over 10 years, despite a greater awareness of birth control methods and an improvement in family planning services, according to a comparison of National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data from 2005-06 and 2015-16.

India’s population, now estimated at 1.32 billion, is expected to surpass China’s within the next six years and reach 1.7 billion by 2050, according to World Health Organisation projections. The largest decrease in the use of “modern methods” of contraception was 12 per cent, reported from Goa; Assam reported the largest increase, 10 per cent.

Modern methods include: female and male sterilisation, the contraceptive pill, intra-uterine device (IUD), post-partum IUD (PPIUD, used after childbirth), injectables, male and female condoms, and emergency contraception. Seven of 14 states reported increased use of condoms, the largest increase (2 per cent) in West Bengal, the greatest decline (3 per cent) in Manipur.

Six of 14 states reported more people using IUDs, the greatest increase in Sikkim (3 per cent), the largest decline in Karnataka (2 per cent). No more than four of 14 states show any increase in the use of contraceptive pills, with Assam reporting 12 per cent more users, and Goa and Sikkim reporting 1 per cent drops.

The analysis of the most recent data from the NFHS-4 of 2015-16 is currently underway. The study of 14 states has been conducted by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) with government approval.

Of the states currently surveyed, half reported more people using condoms, the other half reported a decline. This might be a case of the preferred method not being available, as some Front Line Services accredited social health activists (ASHA), medical stores, and primary health centres (PHC) may not have more than one or two government-promoted brands, particularly in rural areas, public-health consultant Kumar Das told India Spend. “These available methods, maybe, are not that interesting or not that pleasurable,” he said.