OBJECTIVE: To analyze data on contraceptive use in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, collected by the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) conducted in 1996. METHODS: The study data were compared to 1986 DHS and 1996 data on the Brazilian population. Contraceptive use among married or cohabiting women was evaluated focusing on age, number of children, schooling, and age and timing of female sterilization. Statistical analysis was performed using Student t-test and Kendall's non-parametric test. RESULTS: Unlike data on the Brazilian population, female sterilization rates were steady in the State of São Paulo during the studied period. The same contraceptive pattern is seen in both Brazil and São Paulo: women aged up to 30 years use largely pills; female sterilization predominates in women over 30, increasing with the number of children and decreasing with years of schooling. Male methods have also increased in recent years, being greater in São Paulo than in Brazil. São Paulo also shows a greater variety of reversible contraceptive methods. CONCLUSIONS: Although there were some differences, the prevalence of only two contraceptive methods in both Brazil and São Paulo suggests a tendency regarding the contraceptive methods offered and in reproductive health in the view of new regulations on family planning.
Contraception; Knowledge, attitudes, practice; Family planning; Reproductive medicine; Contraceptives, oral; Sterilization, sexual; Age factors; Educational status; Brazil
