title: Patterns of contraceptive use among Mexican-origin women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mexican women in the United States (US) have higher rates of fertility compared to other ethnic groups and women in Mexico. Whether variation in women's access to family planning services or patterns of contraceptive use contributes to this higher fertility has received little attention.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We explore Mexican women's contraceptive use, taking into account women's place in the reproductive life course.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using nationally representative samples from the US (National Survey of Family Growth) and Mexico (Encuesta National de la Dinámica Demográfica), we compared the parity-specific frequency of contraceptive use and fertility intentions for non-migrant women, foreign-born Mexicans in the US, US-born Mexicans, and whites.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mexican women in the US were less likely to use IUDs and more likely to use hormonal contraception than women in Mexico. Female sterilization was the most common method among higher parity women in both the US and Mexico, however, foreign-born Mexicans were less likely to be sterilized, and the least likely to use any permanent contraceptive method. Although foreign-born Mexicans were slightly less likely to report that they did not want more children, differences in method use remained after controlling for women's fertility intentions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  At all parities, foreign-born Mexicans used less effective methods. These findings suggest that varying access to family planning services may contribute to variation in women's contraceptive use.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Future studies are needed to clarify the extent to which disparities in fertility result from differences in contraceptive access.
authors.affiliation: Health Care Organization & Policy, University of Alabama at Birmingham, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Kari L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: University of Texas at Austin, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Joseph E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Potter