TOTS brief : the Oklahoma toddler survey, 08/2013, v.6 no.2

              To better understand
the issue of pregnancy
spacing in Oklahoma,
The Oklahoma Toddler
Survey (TOTS) asked
mothers about the use
of birth control at two
-years postpartum, and
for those who re-ported
not using birth
control, their primary
reason.
Overall, 49.5% of
mothers with toddlers
in 2006-2010 were
using birth control at two-years
postpartum.
Among the 50.5% who
were not using a birth
control method at two-years
postpartum, more
than one-third reported it
was due to permanent
methods (35.7%), such as
having had a hysterec-tomy,
tubal ligation or a
partner’s vasectomy, Fig-ure
1. Twenty-eight per-cent
stated it was be-cause
they were pregnant
Birth Control Use at Two-Years Postpartum
August 2013
Volume 6, Issue 2
TOTS Brief
The Oklahoma Toddler Survey
In Oklahoma:
Approximately
half of mothers
with live infants in
Oklahoma were
using birth control
at two-years post-partum.
The most common
reason for not
using birth control
at two-years post-partum
was use of
permanent
methods, such as
tubal ligation and
vasectomy.
Birth control use
at two-years post-partum
has in-creased
since
2008, among adult
and teen mothers
with a history of
Medicaid/
SoonerCare use.
An EEO Employer
Two years between preg-nancies
is the World
Health Organization’s rec-ommended
spacing for
women to promote healthy
pregnancies and deliver-ies.
A recent study found
that spacing not only im-pacts
the mother and in-fant,
but can
adversely affect the cog-nitive
and behavioral
health of the older child,
when births are spaced
less than 24 months
apart.1
0.7
3.6
4.6
6.8
8.1
8.6
28.2
35.7
0 10 20 30 40
Sterile
Can't pay
Body won't tolerate
Other
Don't want to use
Not having sex
Pregnant/Want to become …
Permanent method*
Percent
Reason
Figure 1. Reasons for Not Using Birth Control
at Two-Years Postpartum, TOTS 2006-2010
*Includes hysterectomy, partner’s
vasectomy, and tubal ligation