Update: Contraception Among Active Component Service Women, U.S. Armed Forces, 2017-2021

This report summarizes the annual prevalence of permanent sterilization, as well as use of long- and short-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs and SARCs, respectively), contraceptive counseling services, and use of emergency contraceptives from 2017 through 2021 among active component U.S. service women. In 2021, almost half (n=115,671, 45.8%) of women used either LARCs or SARCs. From 2017 to 2021, permanent sterilization decreased from 3.5% to 3.0%; LARC use increased to 23.8% in 2019 and then decreased to 22.4% by 2021; SARC use decreased from 28.1% to 23.4%; and emergency contraceptive use decreased from 2.4% to 1.1%. Annual prevalence of contraceptive counseling only decreased from 4.7% to 2.1%. These data demonstrate that a large proportion of service women utilize at least one form of contraception, and SARCs and LARCs remain the two most popular options.