[Contraception and the use of care systems].

A study has been made of the frequency of the use of contraceptive methods and the methods used (oral contraception, intra-uterine device and other methods). This was carried out on 2000 women aged between 20 and 44 who had not been sterilised, were not pregnant, who lived in towns and in the country. The following variables were studied: the age, the socio-professional class, the zone in which they lived, the way antenatal care had been carried out (the number of antenatal visits and preparation for labour), the number of times they had seen a gynaecologist during the pregnancy, how the baby had been looked after in its first year of life and how often it had seen a paediatrician. A statistical analysis made it possible to categorise the variables that were studied in their relationship to medical contraception. This shows that as regards age, educational level and social status medical contraception was always better in towns than in the country. On the other hand, when women in the country do use medical contraception they go to the gynaecologist much more often than their town sisters do without any particular result from these consultations. Finally, medical contraception is not linked to other medical attention. This tends to confirm that contraception can be used as a prognostic element to show how well the woman will be looked after in pregnancy.