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Reproductive Health Matters
An international journal on sexual and reproductive health and rights
Volume 6, 1998 - Issue 11: Women's health services
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Original Articles

Population policy, son preference and the use of IUDs in North Vietnam

Pages 66-76 | Published online: 01 May 1998

References

  • Levels and trends of contraceptive use as assessed in 1988. Population Studies. 110. 1989; United Nations: New York.
  • IUDs - an update Population Reports. December 1995. Series B, Number 6.
  • A. Jain, J. Bruce. A reproductive health approach to the objectives and assessment of family planning programs. G. Sen, A. Germain, L. Chen. Population Policies Reconsidered. 1994; Harvard University Press: Cambridge MA.
  • A variety of ring-shaped plastic IUDs were used in north Vietnam - in the 1960s the Japanese OTA, and in the 1970s and 80s the ‘Dana’ from Czechoslovakia and the Vietnamese ‘Happiness’. They were replaced in the late 1980s by the copper-bearing IUDs (TCu 200, 220 and 250) and in the 1990s by the TCu 380A. (We do not have information about the types of IUD used in south Vietnam.).
  • D.M. Goodkind. Vietnam’s one- or two-child policy in action. Population and Development Review. 21: 1995; 85–111.
  • Vietnam Intercensal Demographic Survey 1994. Major findings. May 1995; Statistical Publishing House: Hanoi.
  • D. Goodkind. Abortion in Vietnam: measurements, puzzles and concerns. Studies in Family Planning. 25: 1994; 342–352.
  • S.K. Henshaw. Induced abortion: a world review. Family Planning Perspectives. 22: 1990; 76–89.
  • Phai Nguyen van, J. Knodel, Cam Mai van, Xuyen Hoang. Fertility and family planning in Vietnam. Evidence from the 1994 Intercensal Survey. Studies in Family Planning. 2(1): 1996; 1–17.
  • Contraceptive effectiveness is the percentage by which the monthly probability of conception is reduced through the use of contraception. Method effectiveness, or efficacy, refers to a method’s performance under ideal, usually clinical conditions, while use effectiveness refers to the protection offered by the method under field conditions: ‘allowing for human error as well as method failure’ (from [18] below). A contraceptive failure is defined as a pregnancy that begins in a month when contraception is being used.
  • G. Farr, R. Amataya. Contraceptive efficiency of the Copper T 380A and Copper T 200 intrauterine device: Results from a comparative clinical trial in six developing countries. Contraception. 49: 1994; 231–243.
  • Ping Leong Wai, My Huong Nguyen Thi, Cuong Duong Thi. A prospective study of TCu 380A IUD in Vietnamese women. 1994; Institute for the Protection of Mothers and Newborns: Hanoi.
  • Bich Pham Van. The changes of the Vietnamese family in the Red River Delta. Monograph. 1997; Department of Sociology, Gothenburg University: Sweden.
  • Tinh Vuong Xoan. The need for sons; problems and solutions. Vietnam Social Science Review. 39(1): 1993; 25–28.
  • A. Johansson, Nham Tuyet Le Thi, Lap Nguyen The. Abortion in context: women’s’ experiences in two villages in Thai Binh Province, Vietnam. Family Planning Perspectives. 22(3): 1996; 103–107.
  • A. Johansson, Hoa Hoang Thi, Tuyet Le Thi Nham. Family planning in Vietnamwomen s experiences and dilemma: a community study from the Red River Delta. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology. 17: 1996; 59–67.
  • Another paper based on the same survey is: A. Johansson, Hoa Hoang Thi, Lap Nguyen The. Population policies and reproductive patterns in Vietnam. Lancet. 347: 1996; 1529–1532.
  • Measuring the Dynamics of Contraceptive Use. Proceedings of the United Nations Expert Group Meeting on Measuring the Dynamics of Contraceptive Use. United Nations, New York, 1991. A comparison between data collected with the core Demographic and Health Survey questionnaire and a retrospective pregnancy history calendar, like the one used in this study, indicated that the calendar method led to reasonably accurate and complete reporting of previous contraceptive use, even going back 10–15 years.
  • During the period 1980–1984, IUDs used in Vietnam were mainly the plastic devices ‘Dana’ and ‘Happiness’. The TCu200 and TCu220 were introduced in Thai Binh in 1987 and replaced in the early 1990s by the TCu 380A. The two-child policy began to be promoted in 1980–1985, but without financial or other disincentives. The period 1985–1989 was characterised by increasingly strict enforcement of a two-child norm, using incentives and fines. This policy was further reinforced in the early 1990s through even higher fines for those who exceeded two children (see [5] for details of fines in two Thai Binh communes). Thus, from 1980 to 1993, there has been a change towards both better quality IUDs and increasing political pressure to comply with the two-child policy.
  • Of the 842 women who were using an IUD during the study period, 58 per cent said they were using a copper IUD, 5 per cent the plastic ‘Dana’; over one-third were not sure which IUD they were using. Although the majority were likely to be using a copper IUD, the proportion who were not sure was too large to draw conclusions about differences in side effects reported for different IUDs.
  • B.A. Anderson. The validity of survey responses to abortion: evidence from Estonia. Demography. 24: 1994; 115–132.
  • L. Moreno, N. Goldman. Contraceptive failure rates in developing countries: evidence from the Demographic and Health Survey. International Family Planning Perspectives. 17(2): 1991; 44–49.
  • Hieu Do Trong, Van Hoang Thi, P.J. Donaldson. The pattern of IUD use in Vietnam. International Family Planning Perspectives. 21(1): 1995; 6–10.
  • See for example. J. Trussell, K. Kost. Contraceptive failure in the United States: a critical review of the literature. Studies in FamilyPlanning. 18(5): 1987; 237–283. The exclusion criteria used for clinical trials of IUDs (e.g. menstrual disorders, anaemia and reproductive tract infections), make it impossible to extrapolate the results to the ‘typical user’, i.e. to the estimated 45 per cent of non-pregnant women in developing countries who by the WHO definition are anaemic (quoted in [2]).
  • T. Gammeltoft. Women’s bodies, women’s worries: health and family planning in a Vietnamese rural commune. PhD Thesis. 1996; Institute of Anthropology, University of Copenhagen: Denmark.
  • Uhrig J, 1995. Survey on reproductive tract infections in Vietnamese rural women. Summary of major findings. Hanoi, April. (Unpublished).
  • W.I. de Silva. Influence of son preference on the contraceptive use and fertility of Sri Lankan women. Journal of Biosocial Science. 25: 1993; 319–331.
  • T. Rajaretnam, R.V. Deshpande. The effect of sex preference on contraceptive use and fertility in rural South India. International FamilyPlanning Perspectives. 20(3): 1994; 88–95.
  • J. Haughton, D. Haughton. Son preference in Vietnam. Studies in FamilyPlanning. 26(6): 1995; 325–337.
  • Hoa Hoang Thi, N.V. Tear, A. Johansson. Child spacing and two child policy in practice in rural Vietnam: cross sectional survey. BMJ. 313: 1966; 1113–1116.
  • Hoa Hoang Thi. Family planning and reproductive patterns in rural Vietnam. A study during a period of rapid socio-economic transition. Medical licenciate thesis. 1996; Karolinska Institutet, University of Umeå: Sweden.
  • Ping Tu. IUD discontinuation patterns and correlates in four counties in North China. Studies in Family Planning. 26(3): 1995; 169–179.
  • J. Bongaarts, G. Rodriques. A new method for estimating contraceptive failure rates. 1995. (In [2] above).
  • See for example: M. Nichter, M. Nichter. Modern methods of fertility regulation: when and for whom are they appropriate?. Anthropology and International Health. 1989; Kluwer: Netherlands.
  • A.P. Hardon. The needs of women versus the interest of family planning personnel, policymakers and researchers: conflicting views on safety and acceptability of contraceptives. Social Science and Medicine. 35(6): 1992; 753–766.
  • S. Ravindran, M. Berer. Contraceptive safety and effectiveness: a re-evaluation of women’s needs and professional criteria. Reproductive Health Matters. 3: 1994; 6–11.

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