WV women second in contraceptive use prevalence rate
Kalibo, Aklan – Women from Western Visayas who were surveyed under the 2006 Family Planning Survey (FPS) conducted by the National Statistics Office registered as the second highest in Contraceptive Use Prevalence Rate.
At 48.3%, Western Visayas followed Central Luzon, which registered highest in Contraceptive Prevalent Rate (CPR) at 58%, while the lowest was the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) at 20%.
This and other important data were revealed recently at the 2006 Family Planning Survey Data Dissemination Forum conducted by the National Statistics Office here as one of their year-end activities.
Provincial Statistics Officer Blas M. Solidum said the Family Planning Survey result is very essential as it will guide health planners to formulate better strategies in implementing programs and services as well as to promote responsible parenthood and better quality of life for the people in general.
The 2006 Family Planning Survey was designed to provide up-to-date information on family planning and maternal and child health and estimates of maternal and under-five mortality rates.
NSO-Aklan Statistician Rodelyn Panadero, who gave the backgrounder of the FPS, revealed that the survey was conducted nationwide among female members of the household aged 15-49 with financial assistance from USAID, AusAID, Packard Foundation and UNICEF. Total households sampled were 2,132; households interviewed, 2,025; household response rate was 95% while women sampled were 2,949. Interviewed were 2,791 with 94.6% response rate.
Of the sampled women, 47.0% are residing in rural areas while 53% are in urban areas; 43.1% are from Luzon while 13.9% are from the NCR; 19.5% are from the Visayas and 23.5%; from Mindanao.
The survey showed that although the Pill remains the leading contraceptive method used by the women at 16.3%, the biggest chunk of the pie belongs to women who use no method at all at 51.7%.
Among reasons cited by women why they are not using any method include health concerns 12.(%), side effects (14.2%) and others (3.4%). Others lack knowledge (2.1%) who are fatalistic or who have "bahala na" attitude.
The survey also revealed that percentage of women aged 15-19 who became mothers or pregnant with their first child registered highest in 2005. In 2005, women who became mothers in the age bracket were at 4.1% while 3.6 became mothers in 2006. Those who became pregnant with their first child in 2005 were at 2.0 % while in 2006, the number is at 1.6. Women who began childbearing in the age bracket in 2005 were 6.1% while in 2006, there were 5.2%. (PIA/Venus G. Villanueva)