Contraception During the Life Course in Switzerland

Jean-Marie Le Goff, Université de Lausanne
Isabella Locatelli, Università degli Studi di Torino

The aim of the analysis is to investigate relations between the reproductive life cycle and the adoption of a specific method of contraception in the case of women living in Switzerland. We are especially interested in the transition from a spacing to a stopping strategy of childbearing, which in Switzerland can correspond to the adoption of the IUD or the male or female sterilization. Our hypothesis is that this change in the contraceptive behavior strongly depends from institutional factors, like advises and contraceptive prescriptions given in family planning centers or by gynecologists. To test this hypothesis, we use data from the three Swiss health surveys of 1992, 1997 and 2002. We focus our analysis on women living in couple born between 1958 and 1967, who experienced the transition to a stopping strategy of childbearing between 1992 and 2002.