Suzy Scotty

This research is an investigation into the impact of contraceptive availability on desired family size and spacing in Burkina Faso, Africa. Burkina Faso reports the second highest fertility rate in the world at 5.35 children per woman, with these rates remaining stagnant despite the historical global trend. After pledging to Family Planning 2020 - a global partnership supporting the rights of women to decide if and when they want to have children - numerous family planning programs have been employed throughout the country in attempt to lower fertility rates. Results have been minor or inadequate while also lacking long term impacts. The plethora of existing contraceptive methods allow women and couples to cease or delay family growth, providing the technology to safely reduce population levels and have profound impacts, but are still infrequently used in Burkina Faso. Quantitative data was gathered from IPUMS Performance Monitoring for Action, an in-depth dataset created to better understand the barriers and constraints women in poor countries face as they try and manage their fertility and reproductive health. Through use of a statistical analysis program, I quantitatively assessed how an individual’s local availability of both short- and long-term contraceptive methods impacts family size through use of ideal and desired family size variables. The results of the research revealed that contraceptive availability increased probability of family planning desire in some models, with statistically significant results with use of select controls.