Ethnic Korean women's perceptions about birth control

We see many Korean women in our clinics and we have found them to have negative attitudes to hormonal contraception. We need to understand their perceptions and experiences with contraception in order to improve the effectiveness of our contraceptive counseling.

This was a qualitative descriptive study, conducted in an urban family practice office. The participants were a convenience sample of 40 ethnic Korean women. Data were collected in semistructured interviews by one interviewer who is fluent in English and Korean. Transcribed interviews were analyzed to identify salient themes.

There was a deep distrust of hormonal methods of contraception and belief that hormones caused permanent harm. Unlike the findings in our other studies of Asian women, these women were satisfied with their usual methods of combining condoms, rhythm and withdrawal. They described good communication with their partners (which is necessary for the effective use of their chosen approaches).

When counseling Korean women about contraception, it is important to discuss the cultural bias against hormonal contraception involving beliefs that hormones cause permanent harm. It is also important to recognize the very successful use of condoms, rhythm and withdrawal by these couples.