Contraceptive frailty: an analysis of prospective contraceptive histories, France, 2000-2004

Clementine Rossier, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)
Jean-Marie Le Goff, Université de Lausanne

Using detailed prospective contraceptive history data collected in a longitudinal French contraceptive use survey (2000-2004, n=2863 women in 2000), we will determine whether times of contraceptive change (adoption, switching, discontinuation) are (temporarily) characterized by greater risks of unintended pregnancies, even when women adopt or switch to more effective methods. Three types of individual-level variables will help us grasp which factors are associated with transitions to moments of greater “contraceptive frailty”. Some will characterize the status of the relationship and the distance between both partners’ socio-economic status; other will indicate the quality of the contraceptive care received; still other will measure the cultural distance experienced by women with their milieu of origin. This choice of variables is driven by a sociological theory of contraceptive failure, where unplanned pregnancies are seen as resulting from normative tensions arising between partners, between clients and health staff, and between one’s current and past social milieu.