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Highlights from the Jamaica Reproductive Health Survey, 2002–2003:
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Back to Jamaica Report Highlights
Percentage of mothers who
breastfed babies born within the five years prior to the survey.
Breastfeeding, Table 3.2.1: Breastfeeding, which benefits the
health of both the infant and the mother, is an almost universal practice
in Jamaica. Among the women surveyed who had had a baby within the five
years leading up to the 2002 survey, 95.7% had breastfed their babies.
This was a slight decrease from the 96.7% who had breastfed their babies
in 1997 survey. There is little difference in rates between urban and
rural areas.
Total fertility rate 1975–2002.
Total fertility, Table 3.4.1: The total fertility rate (the average
number of children per woman) has been consistently falling since the
survey in 1975. The 2002 survey showed the total fertility rate to have
reached 2.5 children per woman, which is an 11% decline since 1997 and a
45% decline since 1975. Total fertility is somewhat higher in rural areas
than in metropolitan Kingston.
Planning status of last pregnancy.
Planning status of last pregnancy, Table 3.5.1: Pregnancies can be
classified as planned (occurred as desired), mistimed (another child was
wanted but not at that time), and unwanted (another pregnancy was not
wanted). In Jamaica, the proportion of pregnancies that were planned
increased from 25.4% in 1989 to 37.5% in 2002. The proportion of unwanted
pregnancies declined from 19.9% in 1989 to 15.9% in 2002.
Proportion of women aged 15–49 years who have ever
used contraception.
Ever use of contraception, Table 6.1.1: Among all women in Jamaica
between the ages of 15 and 49, there was an increase in the percentage who
had ever used contraception, from 80.2% in 1997 to 85.3% in 2002.
Contraceptive use
ever by age, socioeconomic level, and religious attendance 2002.
Ever use of contraception, Table 6.1.1: The percentage who had ever
used contraception peaked during the ages 30–34. Interestingly, rates of
contraceptive use was lower among women of higher economic status than
among those of lower economic stats. Use also tended to decline as
frequency of attendance at religious services increased. Level of
education appeared to have no effect on the likelihood of ever use of
contraception.
Trends in use of various contraceptive methods.
Trends in use of various contraceptive methods, Table 6.1.2:
Overall, the trend in contraceptive use in Jamaica has been an upward one
since 1989. However, trends of use among the individual methods vary. Use
of the condom, injectable hormonal contraceptives, and the traditional
method of withdrawal have all increased over time. Ever-use of condoms
more than doubled between 1989 (32.8%) and 2002 (72.7%). Injectable use
has increased by 48% since 1989, and use of withdrawal almost tripled in
that time period. Use of the oral contraceptive and the rhythm method also
increased, but IUDs, spermicides, and the diaphragm all experienced a
slight decline in use.
Ever-use of specific contraceptive methods by
education level.
Ever-use of specific contraceptive methods by education level,
Table 6.1.4: Although the use of any modern method is the highest among
women with less than a high school education, several modern methods
(condoms, the IUD, and emergency contraceptives) show a clear increase in
usage with greater educational attainment; for the pill, injectables, and
female sterilization, the reverse takes place. The usage of traditional
methods, however, is positively correlated with education, regardless of
the specific method used.
Current use of contraceptives.
Current use of contraceptives, Table 6.3.2: The three most commonly
used methods in Jamaica are the pill, the condom, and tubal ligation,
although the order of preference changed between 1997 and 2002. In 1997,
the pill was the most used method and the condom was in second place; by
2002, the order was reversed and the condom became the most used method
and the pill the second most used.
Men’s contraceptive use.
Men’s contraceptive use, Table 6.3.13: The percentage of young adult
men (15–24) who used contraception with their most recent partner has
increased since 1993, when 68.1% had used a contraceptive method, to 85.3%
in 2002. Condom use has increased over time, from 50.9% in 1993 to 72.9%
in 2002, and accounts for most of the increase in contraceptive use. The
pill (used by their partners) is the second most used method among young
men, especially for those in the older age group, but in general use of
this method has been declining.
Prenatal care: use by residence and initiation of
care by socioeconomic status.
Prenatal care, Table 4.4.1: Receiving prenatal care is important
for catching pregnancy-related problems early and assuring the health of
both the mother and the child. Prenatal care is almost universal in
Jamaica; among women who gave birth in the five years leading up to the
survey, almost all respondents (98.1%) received prenatal care at some
point during their pregnancy. Somewhat unusually, women in rural areas
were more likely to receive prenatal care (99.1%) than were women in the
capital city of Kingston (96.8%). Lower economic status, however, was
associated with women starting their prenatal care later (only 48.7%
started prenatal care in the first trimester, as opposed to 78.3% in the
highest income group).
Forced sexual intercourse by age and socioeconomic
status.
Forced sexual intercourse, Table 4.5.1: Sexual or other violence at
the hands of an intimate partner is a serious problem around the world. The
Jamaica survey asked respondents only about forced sexual intercourse, and
revealed that a fifth of women (20%) had been forced to have sexual
intercourse at some point in their lives. This percentage was little changed
from 1997 (20.4%). Such abuse is possibly on the increase and appears to
start young, as the youngest age group (15–19) have rates of abuse (20.4%)
higher than those of respondents in their late 20s, late 30s, and 40s. Rates
of abuse are highest among women of low socioeconomic status and decrease
with income. A similar pattern is seen by educational attainment, with those
receiving 0–9 years of education having the highest rates of abuse.
Young adult women: age at first intercourse.
Young adults: age at first intercourse (female), Table 11.2.1: The
Jamaica survey included interviews with young adults, both male and female,
aged 15 to 24. Overall, the age at which young adults first had sexual
intercourse has changed little from the 1997 survey. Young women with more
education and those of higher socioeconomic status became sexually active at
older ages as compared with those with less education or of lower
socioeconomic status. However, it is somewhat disturbing to note the
declining age of first intercourse among the more educated young women since
1997.
Young adult men: age at first intercourse.
Young adults: age at first intercourse (male), Table 11.2.1: Young
men in Jamaica initiate sexual activity almost two years earlier than
young women do (13.5 years old vs. 15.8). The pattern seen with young
women of later ages of sexual initiation with more education and higher
socioeconomic status does not hold true for young men, where no such
consistent pattern by education or income is observed. Although the average
age at first intercourse has not increase among males as a whole since 1997,
age at first intercourse has increased among two subgroups of men: those
with the least education and those with the most.
Young adult females: contraceptive use at first
intercourse.
Young adults: contraceptive use at first intercourse (females),
Tables 11.4.1and 11.4.2: Contraceptive use is becoming more widespread
among young adults; the percentage of young women who used contraceptives
at first intercourse increased from 42.7% in 1993 to 55.7% in 1997, and to
67.3% in 2002. The older the young woman was at the time of first
intercourse, the more likely it was that she used contraception.
Young adult males: contraceptive use at first
intercourse.
Young adults: contraceptive use at first intercourse (males), Tables
11.4.1and 11.4.2: Contraceptive use at first intercourse also increased over
time for young men, but was considerably lower than for young women; 21.6%
had claimed contraceptive use in 1993, rising to 43% in 2002 (compared with
42.7% in 1993 and 67.3% in 2002 for young women). Again, the older the young
man was, the more likely he used contraception.
Young adults: reasons for non use at first
intercourse.
Young adults: reasons for nonuse at first intercourse, Table 11.4.4:
The leading reason for not using contraception at the time of first
intercourse, for both young women (52.5%) and young men (37.1%), was that
they didn’t expect to have sex. For almost as many young men (30.2%), the
reason was that they didn’t know of any methods (only 9.5% of young women
gave this reason). Approximately 12% of both men and women claimed that they
could not get a method at that time. Partner opposition to using
contraception, embarrassment, and ignorance of where methods could be
obtained were less significant barriers to contraceptive use.
Page last reviewed: 9/30/08
Page last modified: 4/17/06
Content source: Division
of Reproductive Health,
National Center for Chronic
Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
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