CONTENTS
HIGHLIGHTS
September, 1996 |
An estimated 15% to 30% of the total unmet need group give apparently contradictory responses to different DHS questions about childbearing intentions (19). For example, some women who respond that they do not want to become pregnant also respond to another question that they do not intend to use contraceptives because they want to have more children. To an unknown extent, these contradictory responses may reflect difficulties with the survey questions (53). Nevertheless, in most countries surveyed more women fit this category than cite lack of information or disapproval of family planning as their main reason for not intending to use contraception. Such apparently ambivalent responses are much more common among potential spacers than limiters. In fact, in the DHS it is by far the most important reason among potential spacers for not intending to use contraception (237). For example, in 24 countries, among spacers who do not intend to use contraception soon, an average of 37% appear ambivalent about their childbearing plans. Among limiters, 7% are ambivalent (see Figure 7). Ambivalent responses are common in sub-Saharan Africa, where most unmet need is for spacing births, but such responses are relatively rare elsewhere, where unmet need for limiting births typically accounts for a larger share of unmet need (237). In some DHS conducted between 1985 and 1990, respondents were asked whether they would be "happy, unhappy, or indifferent" if they became pregnant within the next few weeks. In each of 13 countries analyzed, some women classified as having unmet need nonetheless said that they would be happy to become pregnant soon. The statistics differ sharply depending on whether the unmet need is for limiting or for spacing births. Just 10% or less of potential limiters said they would be happy to become pregnant soon compared with 30% to 50% of potential spacers (19). Women's conflicting statements about their reproductive desires also may reflect the contradictions that they face in many aspects of their lives. In Guatemala, for example, some women interviewed said that they would prefer not to have any more children so that they could have more time for themselves, but also they wanted to have more children to please their partners (10). In Tamil Nadu, India, Ravindran found that few women had a clear view of how many children they wanted or even whether they wanted more children. "To engage in planning their families when nothing else about their lives seemed plannable may have been difficult," she observed (165). |