WHICH FACTORS CAN CONTRIBUTE TO INCREASING MODERN CONTRACEPTIVE USE AMONG WOMEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE IN BANGLADESH?

Introduction: Modern contraceptive use not only prevents reproductive health-related problems among women but also controls rapid population growth. Contraceptive use and fertility are inversely related to each other. The objective of this study is to identify determinants of modern contraceptive use among women of reproductive age in Bangladesh.

Methods: The most recent data from the Bangladesh Demography and Health Survey 2017–18 were used in this study. We analyzed a total of 20,127 women of reproductive age (15–49 years). The multilevel logistic regression method was utilized to determine the significant factors of modern contraceptive use. A p-value (<0.05) with a 95% confidence interval was used to evaluate the statistically significant variables.

Results: Our research revealed that modern contraceptive use was significantly associated with womens age, womens education, womens occupation, division, place of residence, exposure to mass media, wealth index, and religion. Women with higher educational status (OR= 1.39, 95% CI= 1.22-1.59) had a higher chance of using contraception than women with no education.

Conclusion: The prevalence of modern contraceptive use is still low in Bangladesh. The study suggested that focusing on womens age, womens education, womens occupation, division, place of residence, exposure to mass media, wealth index, and religion might help to increase contraceptive use and reduce rapid population growth in Bangladesh.