Family planning issues are important to university-aged students. Education is associated with sexual behavior, childbearing and contraceptive use and studies show that educated women are more likely to postpone pregnancy.
Family planning choices of Finnish university students have been investigated using the material from the Student Health Survey 2004, from a study of emergency contraception users in the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) in Tampere and from the health record statistics of the FSHS.
The Student Health Survey 2004 was a postal questionnaire that included the questions concerning current sexual activity and use of contraceptives, childbearing and the desire to have children. Of university students (n=3153) 80 % were currently sexually active. Of male students, 65 % and of female students, 79 % reported currently using some contraception. The most popular method among women was hormonal contraception and among men, condoms. Only 6.8 % of male students and 7.9 % of female students had children. The vast majority (89 %) of students desired to have children in the future. Most students indicated wanting two.
Those who sought emergency contraception were questioned about the reason to use EC, why they don’t want to get pregnant now and about their future plans concerning childbearing. The main reason why the respondents (n=114) needed emergency contraception was condom failure. One-third of respondents had not used any contraception. The majority of respondents planned to have children in the future at about the age of thirty years. Unfinished studies were the main reason to postpone pregnancy.
The trends in the use of family planning services between 1986 and 2005 were investigated by using the data from the health record statistics of the FSHS. During this time the number of family planning consultations (physician encounter) decreased from 358 to 189 per 1000 female students. The number of consultations concerning an official statement for induced abortions decreased from 4.2 to 2.9 per 1000 female students.
University students commonly use reliable contraceptive methods and they use EC when needed. The FSHS offers easy and inexpensive access to contraception services. The students are at the optimal age for childbearing, however they are seldom parents. The vast majority of students plan to have children in the future and they want to postpone pregnancy until after completion of studies. In order to prevent age-related unintended infertility, health care providers should counsel on age and fertility.
