Family planning to parents is a “basic human right to determine freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children”, as is stated in Resolution XVIII on the Human Rights Aspects of Family Planning adopted during the United Nations International Conference on Human Rights in Tehran, Iran on 13 of May 1968. Furthermore, family planning, as defined in the NDHS 2017 Key Indicators Report published last February 2018, refers to a conscious effort by a couple to limit or space the number of children they have through the use of contraceptive methods.

Contraceptive methods are classified as modern or traditional. Modern methods include female sterilization, male sterilization, intrauterine contraceptive device (IUD), injectables, implants, the pill, condoms, standard days method (SDM), and lactational amenorrhea method (LAM). Methods such as rhythm, withdrawal, and folk methods are grouped as traditional.

In Region X, 53.5 percent of the currently married women aged 15-49 were currently using methods of contraception, with 44.9 percent using modern method and 8.6 percent using traditional method. (See Figure 1)

Figure 2 shows that there has been an increase of percentage of currently married women using methods of family planning, from 50.7 percent in 2013 to 53.5 percent in 2017. The use of modern methods of contraception increased from 37.6 percent in 2013 to 44.9 percent in 2017.

The most popular method of contraception used by currently married women in Region X as shown in Figure 3A was the pill (used by 22.5 percent), IUD came second (used by 10.4 percent). The third most popular method was the female sterilization which was used by 5.7 percent. On the other hand, the least methods used were the standard days method (SDM) and the lactational amenorrhea method (LAM).

The pill and the IUD methods were two most popular methods of contraception in 2013. However, the withdrawal method was more popular than the female sterilization then. Withdrawal method decreased in popularity by 2.3 percentage points from 7.1 percent in 2013 to 4.8 percent in 2017. The rhythm method also decreased in usage by the currently married women, from 5.1 percent to 3.8 percent (a 1.3 percentage points decrease). (See Figure 3B)

In contrast, the use of female sterilization increased from 5.2 percent in 2013 to 5.7 percent in 2017.

Women who want to postpone their next birth for 2 or more years, or who want to stop childbearing altogether but are not using a contraceptive method, are said to have an unmet need for family planning. Pregnant women are considered to have an unmet need for spacing or limiting if their pregnancy was mistimed or unwanted, respectively. Similarly, amenorrheic women are categorized as having an unmet need if their last birth was mistimed or unwanted. Women who are currently using a family planning method are said to have a met need for family planning. Total demand for family planning services comprises those who fall in the met need and unmet need categories.

Figure 4 shows data on total demand for family planning, met and unmet needs for family planning among currently married women aging 15-49 in Region X. In 2017, 17.8 percent of the currently married women had unmet need for family planning services while 53.5 percent of them were currently using a contraceptive method. This shows that 71.3 percent of the currently married women had demand for family planning in 2017.

Comparing the 2017 results from 2013, the demand for family planning services increased in 2017 by 0.4 percentage point from the recorded demand in 2013 of 70.9 percent. The unmet need decreased by 2.8 percentage points in 2017 from the 20.2 percent unmet need in 2013.

The percentage of demand satisfied is met need over the total demand for family planning. In Region X, the percentage of demand satisfied in 2017 was at 75 percent. This was an increase of 3 percentage points from the recorded satisfied demand of 72 percent in 2013.

The NDHS 2017 is a nationally representative survey of almost 31,000 households and 25,000 women aged 15-49. The survey was conducted from 14 August to 27 October 2017. The NDHS 2017 is the eleventh in a series of demographic surveys undertaken in the Philippine since 1968. Funding for the NDHS 2017 was provided by the Government of the Philippines. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provided technical assistance and equipment through ICF under the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) program.

Regional Director

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division

For further inquiries, you may contact:

Philippine Statistics Authority

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