Contraception and coital frequency

Abstract

National family planning programmes throughout Asia are making every effort to spread the use of modern methods of contraception. One strategy sometimes employed to encourage women to begin family planning is to suggest that contraception will improve marital sexual relationships. Presumably, women protected by an effective contraceptive are freed from the anxiety of having an accidental or undesired pregnancy. Thus, they are better able to enjoy marital relations. Data collected from American women provide some support for such a proposition. However, there is almost no evidence available on the situation among Asian women. In this paper, using data from Thailand, the authors consider the effect of contraception on a central aspect of marital relations, namely, coital frequency.