Use of contraception among women who request first trimester pregnancy termination in Norway.

OBJECTIVES: Among women requesting pregnancy termination, we studied the proportion of women who reported having used contraception when they became pregnant and the contraceptive method that they had used.

STUDY DESIGN: We included all requests for pregnancy termination in Norway during the years 2007-2011 (n=80,346) by obtaining information from the Norwegian Registry of Pregnancy Termination. By using a logistic regression model, we estimated odds ratios for using any contraceptive method associated with the woman's age, previous childbirth, previous pregnancy termination, marital status, employment status and educational level.

RESULTS: In total, 36.5% of the women who requested pregnancy termination (29,305/80,346) reported having used contraception when they became pregnant. Of all women, 16.6% reported having used the combined contraceptive pill/progestin pill, 11.5% the condom and 1.1% long-acting reversible contraceptives (1.0% intrauterine contraception). Overall, 38.9% of women 20-24years old had used contraception, compared to 29.9% of women 40-44years old (odds ratio 0.55, 95% confidence interval 0.51-0.60). Previous childbirth, previous pregnancy termination and high educational level were also associated with contraceptive use.

CONCLUSION: Among women who requested pregnancy termination in Norway, 36.5% reported having used contraception when they became pregnant. Contraception use was associated with young age and having previously been pregnant.

IMPLICATIONS: A large proportion of women who request pregnancy termination have experienced contraceptive failure. Women who are fertile and do not wish to become pregnant should be offered a contraceptive method that carries low risk of incorrect use.