Abstract:

Despite actions taken by the Indian government to improve national, regional, and village-level sexual and reproductive health, 49 million women still have unmet contraceptive needs. Yet, when granted access, women disproportionately elect for irreversible methods such that India has the highest female sterilization rate in the world. Building on these insights, the present study examines associations between women’s empowerment (e.g., cooking, shopping, and family-planning autonomy), region (e.g., Hills, North, and East), and use of contraception (i.e., any and type). Data for this study comes from ever-married, reproductive aged women in the 2005 and 2012 waves of the India Human Development Survey (n=38,634). Results from multilevel logistic models showed that higher levels of women’s empowerment are associated with greater probability of using contraception, and after disaggregation, relying on female sterilization. Furthermore, region of residence modifies associations such that women residing in the North Central and North are typically less likely to utilize contraception. Across empowerment levels, residents of the West and South consistently have higher levels of contraceptive use. This study highlights the importance of women’s empowerment for contraception as well as regional differences in reproductive healthcare access, views of contraception, and long-term impacts of fertility planning programs.

摘要：

尽管印度政府采取行动改善国家、地区和村庄层面的性健康和生殖健康，但 4900 万妇女的避孕需求仍未得到满足。然而，当获得准入时，女性不成比例地选择了不可逆转的方法，因此印度的女性绝育率是世界上最高的。基于这些见解，本研究探讨了妇女赋权（例如烹饪、购物和计划生育自主权）、地区（例如山区、北部和东部）和避孕措施使用（即任何类型）之间的关联。本研究的数据来自 2005 年和 2012 年印度人类发展调查中的已婚育龄女性（n=38,634）。多层次逻辑模型的结果表明，妇女赋权水平越高，使用避孕措施的可能性就越大，并且在分解后，依赖于女性绝育。此外，居住地区改变了关联，使得居住在中北部和北部的妇女通常不太可能采取避孕措施。在各个赋权级别上，西部和南部居民的避孕药具使用率始终较高。这项研究强调了赋​​予妇女避孕权力的重要性，以及生殖保健服务、避孕观念和生育计划计划的长期影响方面的地区差异。