[Sex behavior and contraception among the population of Romany origin]

The modern and reliable methods for contraception are not sufficiently used in our country, especially among the Gypsy population, where the abortions and the births are relatively higher. Through a standardised interview information about the fertility and the familial status of the Gypsy population of Sofia, Pleven [correction of Eleven] and Sliven regions was gathered. The aim of the study is analysis of the sexual behaviour of the population in the given regions and the need of adequate contraception avoidance of unwanted gravidity. The results show that only 12% of the population know how to protect themselves of sexually transmitted diseases, 55% of the women have not knowledge about their own gravidity, 57.3% of them give birth of their first child at the age of 15-17, 78.1% do not use contraceptive means and 3.6% use harmful "protective" methods.