A survey of family planning in the Philippines

In a multi-centre survey in 1986, 400 married Filipino women aged 15-40 were interviewed about their use of contraceptive methods, and specifically about their perceptions of the effects on health of oral contraceptives and their attitudes to contraceptive methods. The sample was randomly selected in the urban and rural areas surveyed and cannot be considered representative for the country as a whole. The results showed that women hold definitive views on the health risks posed by oral contraceptives and point to the importance of family planning clinics as a source of contraceptive counselling. The overall rate of contraceptive use must be regarded as insufficient to meet contraceptive need