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Rural and urban Midwestern United States contraception practices
S A Hartlage1, C Breaux, S Gehlert
1Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center/Rush Medical College, Chicago, IL, USA. shartlag@rpslmc.edu
Contraception
|October 24, 2001
Summary
Rural and urban women exhibit different contraception practices, with urban women more likely to use contraception and rural women favoring sterilization. Lifestyle choices, not STD concerns, appear to drive these differences.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive Health
- Demography
- Sociology
Background:
- Limited demographic data exists on contraception practices in rural US populations.
- Understanding urban-rural disparities in reproductive health is crucial for targeted interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate demographic factors influencing contraception use among women in rural and urban areas of Illinois and Missouri.
- To identify differences in contraception methods and motivations between urban and rural populations.
Main Methods:
- A survey of 370 randomly selected menstruating women (age 13-55) in rural and urban Illinois and Missouri.
- Interview questions assessed demographic information and contraception practices.
Main Results:
- Urban women with fewer children were more likely to practice contraception than rural women (p < 0.01).
- Rural Illinois women (23%) were more likely to choose sterilization than urban women (2%) (p < 0.01).
- Single status was more prevalent in Chicago and rural Missouri than rural Illinois, potentially linking to STD risks.
Conclusions:
- Urban-rural differences in contraception practices are likely influenced by lifestyle choices, such as postponing childbirth versus limiting family size.
- Contraception use differences do not appear strongly linked to concerns about contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).