Birth control: Some experiences from Denmark

This article discusses that an effective birth control exists in Denmark today. Birth control is considered as a means for the couple not only to reach the wished-for family size by limiting their number of children but also to decide when to have children. Since 1973, women in Denmark can have an induced abortion on request before the end of the 12th week of pregnancy An increasing proportion of women applying for induced abortion have no children, indicating that induced abortion is a means to obtain an effective postponement of first birth. The paper concludes that birth control is primarily accomplished by use of contraceptives and as an effect of widespread use, teenagers have managed to diminish their total rate of pregnancy rather dramatically. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.