Contragestion is a birth control method that works throughout the luteal phase or beyond by dislodging an implanted early embryo. This study aimed to investigate the sociodemographic characteristics and reproductive history factors that influence the hypothetical acceptability of contragestion among reproductive-aged women in Hong Kong.
This was a secondary analysis of a prospective questionnaire survey of 1448 women recruited from two community family planning services and the obstetrics and gynaecology unit of a university hospital.
A total of 433 respondents (29.9%) expressed acceptability of contragestion. In the multivariate regression analysis, prior history of termination of pregnancy (OR 1.834, 95% CI 1.428 to 2.355; p<0.001), previous use of emergency contraception (OR 1.481, 95% CI 1.168 to 1.878; p=0.001) and future plans to use hormonal contraception (OR 1.615, 95% CI 1.26 to 2.07; p<0.001) were associated with a significantly higher acceptance of contragestion after controlling for age, having a sexual partner currently and monthly income. Meanwhile, having child(ren) (OR 0.692, 95% CI 0.52 to 0.92; p=0.01) was associated with a significantly lower acceptance rate.
About 30% of women in our survey expressed acceptability of contragestion hypothetically, and higher acceptability was observed in those without children, those having had a previous termination of pregnancy or previous use of emergency contraception, as well as those who planned to use hormonal contraception in the future.