Patterns of contraceptive use

This chapter investigates patterns of contraceptive use among Australian women who are at 'risk' of pregnancy: that is, women of reproductive age who are sexually active. The aims of this chapter are to determine how women control their fertility, and how contraceptive use varies over the reproductive life course. There are many factors that are associated with contraceptive method use to prevent or delay pregnancy. Availability and access to methods is an important consideration, and the chapter starts with an overview of the contraceptives available in Australia, from the most popular through to the lesser-used methods. Contraceptive method use in Australia is also compared with a number of other countries. Method use is then compared for different sections of the population. Important factors that have been found to be associated with contraceptive method use include age, partnership status, education, religiosity, family size (number of children ever born), and fertility intentions. An emphasis is placed on the type of method used and the timing of fertility intentions. This chapter uses information on contraceptive method use and fertility intentions collected in the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey as part of the Generations and Gender modules in 2005, 2008 and 2011.