Women's characteristics associated with pill discontinuation due to dissatisfaction, by reason

Half of all unintended pregnancies (52%) are attributable to nonuse of contraception, while 43% are the outcome of inconsistent or incorrect method use. That women choose to discontinue their contraceptive method due to concerns regarding dissatisfaction is well addressed in existing literature. However, less is known about characteristics of women associated with method discontinuation due to dissatisfaction; specifically, the pill. Data come from the 2006-2008 female respondent questionnaires of the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). Outcomes of interest for this analysis were three groups of reasons for pill discontinuation: “worried about or experienced side effects” (cited by 80% of women who had discontinued the pill), “difficulty in use or method failure” (22%) and “limited access due to cost” (6%). We examined bivariate associations between women's characteristics and the two most commonly cited reasons; multivariate analyses are planned by the time of presentation. Older age, foreign-born status, high education levels, high income and older age at first sex were all associated with pill discontinuation due to side effect-related reasons, whereas lower income, cohabitating with a partner, having experienced an unwanted pregnancy and higher parity were associated with pill discontinuation due to difficulty in use or method failure. The stark contrast in women's predictive characteristics for these two sets of reasons for pill discontinuation highlights the need for targeted efforts to address specific reasons for discontinuation, rather than pill discontinuation in general. Findings from this analysis may help to inform these efforts and, ultimately, improve women's experiences with the pill.