The aim was to study the contraceptive patterns among men and women in
Leon, Nicaragua. A questionnaire about sexual, contraceptive, reprodu
ctive and socioeconomic issues was directed to 7,789 households includ
ing 22% of all women of the municipality aged 15-49 years (n=10,867).
A subsample of 388 men and 413 women aged 15-49 years was drawn at ran
dom. Refusals were less than 2%. Private interviews revealed that amon
g fertile women who had been sexually active within the last three mon
ths, non-pregnant and wishing to avoid pregnancy, 77% were contracepti
ng. Female sterilization was the most common contraceptive method (39%
), followed by intrauterine device (16%). Even though around 60% of wo
men at some time had tried oral contraceptives, only 13% of contracept
ors used them currently. The rhythm and interruption methods together
constituted only 4%. Condom use was low and mainly occasional. Contrac
eptive use in Sexually active women aged 15-44 years was lower among t
hose having lower education, living in rural areas, and living under p
overty conditions. The predominance of female sterilization and the oc
casional condom use-mainly reported by men-reflects a situation of rel
ative male control over contraception and reproduction. This probably
originates from ''machista'' values where men having many children wit
h different women are considered strong. There was also a significantl
y higher use of contraceptives among the better-off women and men comp
ared with the extremely poor. The situation of many poor women, in a c
ountry with limited contraceptive services, is worrying considering th
at abortion is illegal and the threat of HIV epidemic is growing. The
situation for adolescents is particularly problematic with low experie
nce in contraceptive use. (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Inc.