Contraceptive risk-taking in a medically underserved, low-income population

This study examines the phenomenon of contraceptive risk-taking, which is the nonuse of contraception by women who are sexually active, fertile and not pregnant or trying to become pregnant. Based on a survey sample of low-income women in their childbearing years who had not received family planning care or advice from a doctor or clinic for at least three years, the study analyzed demographic predictors of contraceptive risk-taking and also compared levels of contraceptive knowledge and pregnancy histories of noncontraceptors versus barrier contraceptors. Contraceptive risk-taking was found to be higher for minority women, for parous women, for those age 30 and younger, and for those whose knowledge of the fertility cycle is incorrect, but risk-taking was found to be unrelated to the women's marital status. Noncontraceptors were less knowledgeable concerning contraceptive methods and substantially more likely to have had previous unwanted pregnancies due to nonuse of contraception, suggesting that current contraceptive risk-taking probably represents a relatively enduring feature of reproductive behavior for a subgroup of the medically undeserved low-income population.