Why Iranian married women use withdrawal instead of oral contraceptives? A qualitative study from Iran.
BACKGROUND
Withdrawal as a method of birth control is still used in Iran. The aim of this study was to explore married women's perspectives and attitudes on withdrawal use instead of oral contraceptive (OC) in Tehran, Iran.


METHODS
This was a qualitative study. Participants were 50 married women, not currently pregnant, not desiring pregnancy and who had been using withdrawal for contraception. Face-to face interviews were conducted to collect data. Content analysis was performed to analyze the data.


RESULTS
Four major themes were extracted from the interviews: advantages, disadvantages, barriers for OC use, and husband-related factors. Advantages of withdrawal use were identified as: easy to use, convenient, ease of access, natural. Even those participants who had experienced unwanted pregnancy while using withdrawal, relied on withdrawal as their contraceptive method. Disadvantages of OC included concerns about side effects. Barriers related to use of OC included the need for medical advice, vaginal examination and daily use. Husband-related factors included: the husband wanted to be the primary decision maker on the number of children and that he preferred withdrawal.


CONCLUSIONS
Health providers should address misunderstandings that exist about OC and highlight the non-contraceptive health benefits of OC to balance the information provided for women. We suggest that not only women but also their spouses be advised in family planning programs.
Department of Health Education, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
Parvin
P
Rahnama
Alireza
A
Hidarnia
Farkhondeh Amin
FA
Shokravi
Anoushiravan
A
Kazemnejad
Deborah
D
Oakley
Ali
A
Montazeri
D000328:Adult; D003076:Coitus Interruptus; D003267:Contraception / Q000379:methods*; D003276:Contraceptives, Oral / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007492:Iran; D008393:Marriage; D055815:Young Adult
D003276:Contraceptives, Oral