Contraception: Condoms Are King, Plan B Takes Hold

In the realm of contraception, the condom reigns supreme, but one in 10 have used emergency contraception such as Plan B, according to two reports on the contraceptive methods used by women of reproductive age in the U.S.

That's one of the findings of a new report on the contraceptive methods used by women of reproductive age in the U.S., issued by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.

A separate data brief - with overlapping authors – reported that 11% of sexually active women interviewed in the latest National Survey of Family Growth had used emergency contraception.

One of the "most striking changes" over time has been the increase in the proportion of women who report their male partners used a condom – from 52% in 1982, to 82% in 1995, and to 93.4% in the latest figures.

One possible explanation for the trend, the authors concluded, is "heightened awareness and concern for preventing sexually transmitted infections, including HIV."

Overall, the proportion of sexually active women ages 15 through 44 who reported ever using any form of contraception has steadily increased – from 94.8% in 1982 to 99.1% in the latest figures.

The report is based primarily on interviews with 12,279 women who took part in the latest round of the National Survey of Family Growth from 2006 through 2010.

The researchers used earlier rounds of the survey - in 1982, 1995, and 2002 - to illustrate trends in the use of contraception.

The surveys asked about what methods women have ever used; in 2006-2010, the median number of methods ever used by women was about three, but nearly 30% reported trying five or more.

In the 2006-2010 snapshot, the researchers reported, the most common methods that women or their partners had ever used were the male condom (93%), the Pill (82%), withdrawal (60%), and the injectable contraceptive Depo-Provera (23%).

Aside from the growth in condom use, the trend analysis showed:

The proportion of women who had ever used the Pill is roughly stable - 76% in 1982, but plateauing at about 82% in 1995, 2002, and 2006–2010.
Depo-Provera, first available in 1992, had been used by 4.5% of women in 1995 and by 23% in 2006–2010.
Use of the contraceptive patch rose from 0.9% in 2002 to 10% in 2006–2010.
The proportion of women who had ever used an intrauterine device was 18% in 1982, fell to 5.8% in 2002, and then rebounded slightly to 7.7% in 2006-2010.
In the 2006-2010 period, 60% of sexually experienced women had ever used withdrawal compared with about 25% in 1982, a change that may be linked to the increase in condom use, since the two methods are often used together.The 2006-2010 snapshot shows little difference in contraceptive use by religious affiliation – 99.4% of those who said they had no current affiliation reported ever using contraception, compared with 98.6% of Catholics, 99.4% of Baptists and fundamentalist Protestant groups, and 99.5% of other Protestant groups.