A family planning service in the West Indies

ABSTRACT

A family planning service was instituted in Barbados in May, 1955. To evaluate the effectiveness of the service, 555 women who had previously attended the clinics and had fitted with a diaphragm were located and interviewed by nurses. The average period of follow-up was 17 months. Of women who were still in need of protection 63 per cent were found to be active cases. The majority of inactive cases had become inactive after using the prescribed method of contraception for a few months only. Whereas the pregnancy rate with use of diaphragm was 17 per 100 years of exposure, the corresponding rate based on the experience of all women after clinic attendance, including periods with and without use of diaphragm, was 29 per 100 years of exposure. It is estimated that the pregnancy rate among women who had attended the family planning clinics was reduced by approximately three-fifths, compared with the expected rate if they had not attended. (Summary)