Adolescent Adoption and Continuation of Contraception and Reasons for Discontinuation in the Developing Country Setting

Katherine Tumlinson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Ilene S. Speizer, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Family planning has been shown to save the lives of women and children living in developing countries. Despite the overwhelming success of family planning programs in many world regions, contraceptive prevalence in much of the developing world remains low. Future success of family planning programs in these countries will depend not only on improved rates of contraceptive uptake but also on improvements in contraceptive continuation. Given the predominantly young age structure of many developing countries, contraceptive continuation among adolescents warrants increased attention. A better understanding of the factors influencing adolescent contraceptive behavior could dramatically impact global rates of maternal, infant, and child mortality. The goals of this study are to identify trends in contraceptive behavior among women ages 15 to 24 living in select countries and to better understand the factors contributing to adolescent contraceptive discontinuation.