Contraceptive use among migrant, second-generation migrant and non-migrant women seeking abortion care: a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in Sweden

Introduction The objective of this study was to compare ever-in life contraception use, use of contraception at current conception, and planned use of contraception after an induced abortion, among three groups of women: migrants, second-generation migrants and non-migrant women, and to compare the types of contraception methods used and intended for future use among the three groups of women. Methods The cross-sectional study administered a questionnaire face-to-face to women aged 18 years and older who were seeking abortion care at one of six abortion clinics in Stockholm County from January to April 2015. Results The analysis included 637 women. Migrants and second-generation migrants were less likely to have used contraception historically, at the time of the current conception, and to plan to use contraception after their induced abortion compared with non-migrant women. Historically, non-migrants had used pills (89%) and withdrawal (24%) while migrants had used the copper intrauterine device (24%) to a higher extent compared to the other two groups of women. Both the migrants (65%) and second-generation migrants (61%) were more likely than the non-migrants (48%) to be planning to use long-acting reversible contraception. Conclusions Lower proportions of contraception use were found in migrants and second-generation migrants than in non-migrants. In addition, there were significant differences in the types of contraception methods used historically and intended for future use.