The Use of Withdrawal among Birth Limiters in Iran and Turkey

Amir Erfani, Nipissing University
İlknur Yüksel-Kaptanoğlu, Hacettepe University

Despite a marked increase in contraceptive prevalence, a large proportion of birth limiters in Iran and Turkey rely on withdrawal to avoid pregnancy. Adopting a comparative approach, this study used data from the 2000 Iran Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) and the 2003 Turkey DHS to examine the determinants of using withdrawal rather than modern methods among birth limiters. Using multivariate logistic regression analyses, we found that higher education and economic status were strongly associated with the greater likelihood of using withdrawal rather than modern contraceptives among birth limiters in Iran, while an inverse association was found in Turkey. Moreover, women’s age was positively associated with the likelihood of using withdrawal rather than modern methods, whereas number of living children was inversely related with the likelihood of using withdrawal. The results of this study have implications for Iran’s and Turkey’s family planning and reproductive health programs.