Demographic and Health Survey 2009-10 - Timor-Leste Ministry of ...

62 | Family Planning
Knowledge of a modern method rises from 70 percent among currently married women age
15-19 to a peak at 83 percent among those age 30-34 and then declines to 67 percent among the oldest
cohort of women. Currently married women in urban areas (88 percent) are more likely to have heard
about a modern method of family planning than rural women (74 percent), perhaps reflecting the
wider availability and easier access to methods in urban than in rural areas as well as better
penetration of mass media and higher literacy in urban areas. Knowledge of a modern method varies
widely by district and ranges from a low of 56 percent of currently married women in Baucau to a
high of 96 percent in Covalima. Knowledge rises with level of education, from 66 percent among
women with no education to 97 percent among women with more than secondary education.
Similarly, there is a direct relationship between knowledge and wealth quintile, with knowledge rising
from 65 percent of currently married women in the poorest households to 92 percent of women in the
richest households. Currently married men exhibit a similar pattern in knowledge by background
characteristics, with the exception of knowledge by district, where men in Ermera are least likely to
know of a modern method (18 percent) in contrast with men in Manatuto who have universal
knowledge of contraceptives.
5.3 EVER USE OF CONTRACEPTION
Data on ever use of contraception has special significance because it reveals the cumulative
success of programs promoting the use of family planning among couples. Ever use refers to use of a
method at any time, with no distinction between past and present use. In the 2009-10 TLDHS,
respondents who had heard of a method of family planning were asked if they had ever used a
method.
Table 5.3.1 shows the percentage of all women and currently married women who have ever
used family planning by specific method and age. Thirty-two percent of currently married women
have ever used a method of contraception, and 30 percent have ever used a modern method. Among
currently married women, nearly one in four has ever used injectables, making it the most commonly
used modern method. Four percent of currently married women have used the pill, and 2 percent each
have used the IUD or implants. About 3 percent of currently married women report having used
traditional methods.
Ever use of contraception varies with women’s age. The pattern of ever use is curvilinear,
with use being lowest among women in the youngest age group (15-19), increasing with age, and
reaching a plateau among women in their thirties before declining thereafter. The level of ever-use of
any modern method among currently married women rises to a high of 35 percent among those age
30-39 and then declines to 24 percent among women age 45-49. Ever-use among all women follows a
similar pattern.
The 2009-10 TLDHS collected information on ever use of contraception for men but with
respect to five male methods only: male sterilization, condoms, standard days method, rhythm
method, and withdrawal. As evident in Table 5.3.2, fewer than one in ten currently married men age
15-49 (9 percent) has ever used a method, with most having used a modern method (6 percent). Everuse
is highest among sexually active unmarried men, with nearly one in two men having ever used a
method. Among currently married men, the condom is the most commonly used method (3 percent),
and they are much more likely to report ever-use of condoms than women. Two percent of currently
married men reported having used the standard days method. There is no clear pattern between everuse
and age among men. Ever-use of a modern method declines from 7 percent among currently
married men age 20-24 to a plateau around 6 percent among those age 25-44, and then decreases to 3
percent among the oldest cohort. Five percent of currently married men report having used a
traditional method, with withdrawal twice as likely to have been used as the rhythm method.