A new study has revealed that women choose birth control medicines or devices based on relationships and sexual activities and not just long-term pregnancy desires.
The Penn State College of Medicine researchers surveyed nearly 1,000 women on their contraception use, including prescription and over-the-counter methods, as well as natural family planning and withdrawal.
The researchers found that partnership status and frequency of sexual intercourse, which was not long-term pregnancy intent as they had hypothesised, were the strongest predictors of prescription contraceptive use.
Researcher Cynthia H. Chuang said that currently, oral contraceptives were the most commonly used contraception in the U.S. which is used by 16 percent of all women ages 15-44, whereas LARCs were used by only 7.2 percent.
Chuang said that women, who don't ever want to get pregnant, were likelier to use long-acting reversible contraception.
The study is published in the journal Contraception.