A National Study: the Effect of Egyptian Married Women’s Decision-Making Autonomy on the use of Modern Family Planning Methods

Abstract

Contraceptive use is vital in protecting the health of women and the survival of their children. This study aims to test whether women’s autonomy influences their use of modern contraception methods and to determine the mediating effect of education and employment. A cross sectional study using Egypt’s 2008 demographic and health survey was carried out including a sample of 13,734 married women aged 15-49 years. Women’s decision-making autonomy score was obtained from 5 questions on who has the final say on various household decisions. Household decision-making autonomy was significantly associated with current modern contraceptive use. Women with intermediate and high autonomy were 1.19 (95%CI 1.04-1.35) and 1.32 (95% CI 1.18-1.49) more likely to use modern contraception methods compared to women with low autonomy. Women’s education and employment did not mediate this relation. This study supports the evidence of the positive role of women’s autonomy on their uptake of contraceptive methods and this is an independent role and not explained by their educational or employment status.

Keywords: Egypt, women, autonomy, contraceptive use