Monday, December 15, 2014

Who Uses Birth Control?

American women aren't fooling around. Their use of contraception is nearly universal. Overall, 62 percent of women aged 15 to 44 are currently using contraception, but that figure is deceivingly low. It includes women who don't use birth control because they aren't having sex, and it includes women who are trying to get pregnant, are pregnant, or just had a baby.

In fact, only 6.9 percent of women aged 15 to 44 aren't using contraceptives and should be using them because they're sexually active and don't want to become pregnant. That means fully 93.1 percent of American women have taken control of their fertility, which may explain why the fertility rate is at a record low.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Current Contraceptive Status among Women Aged 15-44: United States, 2011-2013

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