NEW ZEALAND'S CONTRACEPTIVE REVOLUTIONS byAN POOL I, JANET DICKSON, A DHARMALINGAM, SARAH HILLCOAT-NALLETAMBY, KIM JOHNSTONE and HELEN ROBERTS POPULATION STUDIES CENTRE, UNIVERSITY OF WAIKATO, 1999.

• Author: Sparrow, Margaret
• Position: Review

What are New Zealand's Contraceptive Revolutions? According to the authors of this monograph they are four in number.

(1) The shift from traditional to barrier methods of contraception. Traditional methods included abstinence, breastfeeding, withdrawal and avoiding intercourse at the presumed fertile time of the cycle, often called the rhythm method. Barrier methods included the diaphragm, cap. vaginal sponge, spermicides and condoms. Barrier methods were promoted by the New Zealand Family Planning Association formed in 1936, at a time when septic abortions were so common that a government enquiry was held to examine the problem. The Family Planning Association faced much opposition from conservative sections of the community, from the Roman Catholic Church and from the medical profession. The first clinic was not opened until 1953. Traditional methods have never disappeared entirely and the rhythm method has been replaced by more scientific methods of natural family planning.

(2) The shift from barrier methods to hormonal methods. The most significant single event was the introduction of oral contraceptive pills in New Zealand in 1961. New Zealand women (only if married and their doctor approved) were among the first in the world to take advantage of this new method of birth control and together with the women of the Netherlands, they led the world in the proportion of women using the pill. Strict abortion laws at that time meant that many women faced the difficult choice of having another unplanned birth, or an illegal or self-induced abortion, if their method of contraception failed. No wonder that a method that promised truly safe contraception had appeal -- similarly with the controversial Depo-Provera injection method. This was introduced into New Zealand in 1969 and still has a place in the range of methods available to New Zealand women. For many years it was not available in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. It was finally approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the USA for use as a contraceptive in October 1992.

(3) The widespread use of sterilisation, both male and female, once families were complete. This is a trend that has been noted in other developed countries. Significant factors affecting family limitation are the economic cost of bringing up children, the needs of children for care and attention and the needs of mothers in a society where many mothers are now working to...