Contraceptive use among married women in the Philippines has almost tripled over the last 30 years, from 17 percent in 1973 to 49 percent in 2003 (Table 1). Furthermore, two Filipino women in five who are not currently using a contraceptive method declare having the intention to use one in the future (Table 2), according to results just released by the 2003 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). The National Statistics Office (NSO) conducted the NDHS, a nationally representative survey of 13,000 households, 14,000 women age 15-49 and 5,000 men age 15-54.

Use of modern family planning methods, which include pills, condom, female sterilization, male sterilization, intrauterine device (IUD), injection, diaphragm/foam/jelly/cream, mucus/Billings/ovulation, LAM, temperature, and standard days method, increased in most regions. Central Mindanao, Bicol, Central Visayas, and Cordillera Administrative Region registered the highest increases in the percentage of women using modern methods between 2001 and 2002. Meanwhile, the National Capital Region had a significant decline in modern contraceptive use.