Creating new reproductive strategies.

ABSTRACT

PIP Since the advent of oral contraceptives (OCs) some 30 years ago, Japanese women have been receiving mixed messages about their safety. Dr. Shoichi Sakamoto, president of the Japanese Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, believes the time has come for Japanese women to decide on contraception. In Japan, the overall birth rate was 1.48 in 1992. As more women pursue higher education, the average age at first marriage has become 26 years. Almost 70% of Japanese women work, which definitely contributes to women having fewer children. The Equal Employment Opportunity Law has allowed for women to pursue a career, but it is still very difficult to raise children owing to the unavailability of maternity leave and lack of day-care centers. Some 60% of married women use some kind of contraceptive, of whom 3/4 use the condom. Half of the Japanese women who have had an abortion used the condom as a contraceptive. The number of abortions stood at 440,000 in 1991 and has been falling steadily every year, although an increasing number of teenagers and women in their forties have had abortions. The ratio of aborted pregnancies to total pregnancies is 18% among women in their twenties and 29% among women in their thirties, whereas it is 81.3% among women in their forties. In 1992, some 30% of married women had abortions and over 12% of these aborted more than twice. One reason is that Japanese women have become more sexually active. In the 1960s OCs were not authorized because of the potential long-term side effects. Research on the safety and efficacy of the OC was completed in the summer of 1992, but the government shelved the matter when in 1991 the number of HIV infections had increased by 250% over 1990 through heterosexual intercourse. Women must have a reliable means of contraception, and the authorities will be required to approve OCs.^ieng