[Results of a representative survey of family planning behavior in West Germany 1985].

A report on the result of a representative survey of family planning behavior in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1985. Interviewers from the EMNID Institute questioned 1267 German women aged between 15 and 45. Of the women interviewed, 6.1% had been sterilized, while in 1.3% of cases, their partner had been sterilized. Regarding the use of reversible methods of contraception, the following figures were established: pill, 37.1%; IUD, 10.3%; condom, 5.9%; rhythm method, 3.9%; withdrawal 3.4%; vaginal diaphragm, 2.1%; mini-pill, 1.3%; locally effective chemical substances, 0.8%. A few women (1.9%) stated that they used a mixture of methods. No information about family planning methods was offered by 13.4% of the women interviewed. The figures obtained were further differentiated according to age, marital status, school education, religion, number of children, desire for more children, profession, and net income. The authors' own questions concerned the early use of contraceptives, the reasons for abandoning a particular method, the reasons for choosing a certain type of contraceptive, sources of information about family planning, the frequency of changes from one type of contraceptive to another, and opinions about the rhythm method. Finally, the result of the EMNID survey is compared with that of known studies both at home and abroad.