Contraceptives used by palestinian women in the past five decades

Abstract EN

The developmental use of contraceptives over the past five decade (1940 – 1988) has been studied among 1218 married Palestinian woman residing in the west bank.

Nearly two-third (61.5%) of the women in this study reported using contraceptives.

Modern types of contraceptives (pills and intra-uterine device) were used by 45.7% of the women; traditional methods ) rhythm, withdrawal and breast feeding) accounted for 12.2%; sterilization constituted 2.3%; and the "social" methods (husband's absence, widowhood, divorce) were reported by 1.3% of the sample.

Barrier contraceptives (condom, cap, sponge and diaphragm) were not reported, however by any f the women.

A strong relationship was found between the social values and the type of the contraceptives employed by woman (only a negligible percentage resorted to sterilization for birth control).education woman used contraceptives more than their undercoated counterparts.

Moreover, regional difference between urban and rural users are quite substantial.

However, these difference can be attributed to economic and educational variances rather than real regional ones.