Fieldworkers in a rural area of Bangladesh distributed two kinds of oral contraceptives to women accepting this method; 286 women received a standard-dose oral contraceptive and 366 women one mile away were given a low-dose pill of the same formulation. Continuation rates at 12 months were 86% for the standard-dose and 75% for the low-dose pill. Worker performance accounted for some of the difference, but the results suggest that the lower-dose pill is less acceptable in rural Bangladesh than the standard-dose pill of the same formulation.
PIP: A study was undertaken in rural Bangladesh to compare continuation rates of standard-dose Norinyl in 286 acceptors, and continuation rates of low-dose pill of the same formulation, Brevicon, in 357 acceptors. Acceptors of Norinyl were generally younger and better educated, while socioeconomic characteristics of both groups were similar. The cumulative continuation rate was significantly higher for Norinyl acceptors from 6 months on. Main reason for discontinuation was pregnancy. Continuation rates for both types of pill, however, appeared to be high; this fact suggests that either pill could be acceptable, and that differences in continuation rates were not caused by differences in age and education, but by differences in the performance of the field workers who were gathering data.