Factors associated with use of the contraceptive sponge

A study of 264 current sponge users, 266 pill users and 45 diaphragm users shows that women who adopted the sponge were older, more educated and more likely to be married, to have higher incomes and to have had more pregnancies and children than were women who had used oral contraceptives. Compared with diaphragm users, sponge users were more likely to be never-married, had had fewer children and were more likely to be Protestant. Users of all three methods cited physicians as being the greatest source of influence in the decision to adopt their current method; however, sponge users were the least likely to cite physicians, and they were more likely to have been favorably influenced by the media than were pill or diaphragm users. Sponge users were more likely than pill users to have ever relied on other contraceptive methods and to have correctly answered more questions on contraceptive knowledge. Sponge users and diaphragm users were similar in the range of methods they had ever used and in contraceptive knowledge. However, sponge users reported more consistent use than did diaphragm users.