Access and Use of Contraception and its Effects on Women's Outcomes in the U.S

Abstract

Changes in childbearing affect almost every aspect of human existence. Over the last fifty years, American women have experienced dramatic changes in the ease and convenience of timing and limiting childbearing, ranging from the introduction of the birth control pill and the legalization of abortion to more recent availability of long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs). This article chronicles these changes, provides descriptive evidence regarding trends in use, and reviews the literature linking them to changes in childbearing and women’s economic outcomes.