Contraception in Russia today: Use and awareness (A population-based study)

Objective: to study the frequency of using contraceptive methods and awareness about the latter among modern Russian women and the reasons for the use of contraception and the rejection of procreation. Design, subjects, and methods. A total of 1007 women aged 18-45 years who lived in Russia were surveyed. An individual face-to-face interview applying a questionnaire having open-ended questions is a method for data retrieval. The results were statistically processed in the Microsoft Excel 2002 program using a normal distribution model. Results. Contraception constitutes 85% (for all its methods) and is comparable with developed countries. The most widely used methods are condoms (45%), combined oral contraceptive (COC) pills (30%), and coitus interruptus (23%). The awareness of current contraceptive methods is high (98% for condoms, 87% for COC, and 71% for copper-containing intrauterine devices) and that of hormone-releasing systems is lower (30-56%). The main reasons for the rejection of procreation are social factors, among which the low socioeconomic status is leading (71%). Conclusion. The total number of contraceptive users is sufficient; however, the structure of the used methods shows a preponderance of options that lie in the area of male responsibility (condoms, coitus interruptus) and have insufficient efficiency despite the high awareness of current hormonal and intrauterine devices. Among the hormonal methods, COC pills are more commonly chosen by women than the releasing systems used rarely. The results of the investigation are important for the elaboration of contraceptive strategies that can affect the rate of unwanted pregnancies in modern Russian women. © Bionika Media Ltd.