Objective

To evaluate racial/ethnic differences in contraceptive use among women who do not desire future pregnancy.

Study design

We used the 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth to examine the associations between race/ethnicity and 1) use of any contraceptive method at last heterosexual intercourse and 2) effectiveness of contraceptive method used among women who stated that they did not desire any (more) children. We conducted multivariable logistic regression to assess the independent effect of race/ethnicity on these outcomes, adjusting for socio-demographic factors, reproductive characteristics, and indicators of healthcare access and utilization.

Results

The study sample consisted of 2900 women, aged 15-44 years. The vast majority of women (91.2%) used contraception at last sex, although this varied significantly by race/ethnicity (p<.01). In the fully adjusted model controlling for demographic and reproductive characteristics as well as healthcare access, compared to whites, black women were significantly less likely to use any contraception at last sex (OR: 0.43; 95% CI: 0.27-0.73), while there was no significant difference for Hispanic women (OR: 0.95; 95% CI: 0.52-1.72). Among women who used a method at last sex, the type of contraceptive method varied significantly by race/ethnicity in bivariate analysis (p<.01), although most women (59%) used a highly effective method. In the fully adjusted model, racial/ethnic differences were no longer significant.

Conclusions

In this nationally representative cohort of women who report that they do not desire (more) children, black women were significantly less likely than white women to use any contraception at last intercourse; this difference did not appear to be due to differential access to health care.

Implications

Significant racial/ethnic differences exist in contraceptive use among women who have completed childbearing, which do not appear to be explained by differential socioeconomic status, reproductive characteristics or utilization of healthcare. Other factors, including social mobility and locus of reproductive control, that may contribute to these variations should be further explored.

Background

Unintended pregnancy has been significantly associated with subsequent female sterilization. Whether women who are sterilized after experiencing an unintended pregnancy are less likely to express desire for sterilization reversal is unknown.

Methods

This study used national, cross-sectional data collected by the 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth. The study sample included women ages 15-44 who were surgically sterile from a tubal sterilization at the time of interview. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between a history of unintended pregnancy and desire for sterilization reversal while controlling for potential confounders.

Results

In this nationally representative sample of 1,418 women who were sterile from a tubal sterilization, 78% had a history of at least one unintended pregnancy and 28% expressed a desire to have their sterilization reversed. In unadjusted analysis, having a prior unintended pregnancy was associated with higher odds of expressing desire for sterilization reversal (odds ratio [OR]: 1.80; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.15-2.79). In adjusted analysis controlling for sociodemographic factors, unintended pregnancy was no longer significantly associated with desire for reversal (OR: 1.46; 95% CI: 0.91-2.34).

Conclusion

Among women who had undergone tubal sterilization, a prior history of unintended pregnancy did not decrease desire for sterilization reversal.

Background

Despite the major benefits of effective antiretroviral therapy on HIV-related survival, there is an ongoing need to help alleviate medication side effects related to antiretroviral therapy use. Initial studies suggest that marijuana use may reduce HIV-related symptoms, but medical marijuana use among HIV-infected individuals has not been well described.

Methods

The authors evaluated trends in marijuana use and reported motivations for use among 2776 HIV-infected women in the Women's Interagency HIV Study between October 1994 and March 2010. Predictors of any and daily marijuana use were explored in multivariate logistic regression models clustered by person using generalized estimating equation. In 2009, participants were asked if their marijuana use was medical, "meaning prescribed by a doctor," or recreational, or both.

Results

Over the 16 years of this study, the prevalence of current marijuana use decreased significantly from 21% to 14%. In contrast, daily marijuana use almost doubled from 3.3% to 6.1% of all women and from 18% to 51% of current marijuana users. Relaxation, appetite improvement, reduction of HIV-related symptoms, and social use were reported as common reasons for marijuana use. In 2009, most marijuana users reported either purely medicinal use (26%) or both medicinal and recreational usage (29%). Daily marijuana use was associated with higher CD4 cell count, quality of life, and older age. Demographic characteristics and risk behaviors were associated with current marijuana use overall but were not predictors of daily use.

Conclusions

This study suggests that both recreational and medicinal marijuana use are relatively common among HIV-infected women in the United States.