ABSTRACT
PIP: The 1987 National Survey of Maternal and Infant Health of Guatemala indicated that only 23% of eligible women use contraception. The total fertility rate averaged 5.6 lifetime births between 1982-87, although the survey suggested that many women would prefer a smaller family size. Oral contraceptives and female sterilization are the most widely used methods of fertility control; 18% of married women have used the pill at least once and 10% are sterilized. 34% of the 5122 women surveyed reported ever-use of contraception. Women over 30 years of age were almost twice as likely to be contraceptive acceptors than younger women, and 41% of urban women compared with only 15% of rural women were contracepting. The private sector (predominantly the Association for Family Welfare) supplies 2/3 of the contraceptives used by Guatemalan women, while providers in the public sector include public sector include public hospitals, health centers, and the Guatemalan Institute of Social Security. The large unmet need for family planning in Guatemala is indicated by the survey finding that 2/3 of the married women who did not want more children were not practicing contraception. In urban areas, 47% of women who did not want more children were not using a family planning method; in rural areas, this statistic was 79%. The greatest unmet need exists among the indigenous Indian population: 91% of women in this group who do not desire more children are not contraceptive users. Education plays a major role in influencing contraceptive acceptance. 84% of those with no education compared with 24% of those with a high school education were not contracepting.^ieng