In this article, longitudinal data from rural Bangladesh are used to a
ssess the impact of household visits from family planning workers on c
ontraceptive use. A panel of women was interviewed in a demographic su
rvey and reinterviewed every 90 days for six successive rounds. Regres
sion methods are used to estimate the effect of these encounters on th
e odds that a woman will use contraceptives. Statistical controls adju
st for the potentially confounding effects of underlying demand for co
ntraception. Findings suggest that both male and female worker-initiat
ed exchanges have an effect, although the impact of outreach is more p
ronounced if the worker is female. Estimated effects are consistent wi
th the hypothesis that the predominant impact of outreach is to crysta
llize existing latent demand for contraception. Results also suggest,
however, that female worker outreach generates new demand by fostering
ideational change.