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Abstract
Rebecca Reynolds, Contraception and Control: How the Sino-implant (II) Can Improve the
Lives of Women in Developing Countries Final Research Paper, WR150, Boston University,
April 2014.
There are currently hundreds of millions of women living in developing countries without access
to contraceptives. In this paper, I analyze the current state of family planning in developing
countries and suggest that the Sino-implant (II) can improve the lives of women, especially
where other contraception methods have failed. In building my argument I describe the problems
caused by not using contraception and the barriers blocking modern contraception use in
developing countries. I use Everett Rogers Perceived Attributes of Innovations to dissect the
issues with most modern contraceptives and why they are not successful innovations. My
evidence is collected from scholarly articles, websites, and fact sheets that describe maternal
health, pregnancy, and contraceptive use. I conclude that the Sino-implant (II) is an important
solution to creating better contraceptive technology for the developing world.
Keywords: contraception, maternal health, developing country, birth control, family planning,
sexual health
Word count: 133
Contraception and Control: How the Sino-implant (II) Can Improve the Lives of Women in
Developing Countries
Many women in the developing world live in poverty, lack education, and cannot
improve their quality of life. These women have the opportunity to improve their circumstances
if they take control of their sexual health and use modern contraception. Unfortunately, modern
contraception has faced difficulties with effective and successful use in impoverished nations due
to cost, limited availability, culture, and usability. The Sino-implant (II) was innovated
specifically for the developing world, which makes it a game-changer in the world of public
health. It has proven an effective, low cost, and available long-acting contraceptive implant that
is widely accepted by women in developing countries. The Sino-implant (II) is not only a step
for women to better their lives, but it makes a big impact towards the Millennium Development
Goal of maternal health, which leaves lasting benefits on other goals as well.

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Women in developing countries face many difficulties as a result of unmet need.i An
estimated 222 million women in developing countries want to use contraception but cannot
because of limited access, lack of knowledge, cultural barriers, and more.ii Globally, 57% of
women use modern contraception methods. That number shrinks to only 24% when looking at
African women alone.iii As a result of limited contraception use, almost 10% of girls become
pregnant by age 16 in sub-Saharan Africa, south Asia, and other developing areas.iv These young
women then must sacrifice their educations to take care of their families, which adversely affect
their lives, their families, and their communities. This perpetuates the cycle of poverty and traps
low-income women into poor situations. Young mothers are also at high risk for maternal death,
health problems, and infant mortality, meaning its dangerous for both the mother and child.
Considering that most adolescent pregnancy is usually unintended and unplanned, the mothers
vulnerability increases even more because of lack of proper healthcare and support.
Alternatively, these unintended adolescent pregnancies are likely to end in an unsafe abortion;
about 2.5 million young women in developing countries have unsafe abortions every year. v The
Guttmacher Institute calculated that 80 million unintended pregnancies resulted in 40 million
abortions, 10 million miscarriages, 100,000 maternal deaths, 800,000 stillbirths, and 600,000
infant deaths in 2012 alone.vi
Most modern contraception methods have had trouble with successful adoption and use
in developing countries. Everett M. Rogers would say that contraception has failed to diffuse as
an innovation.vii According to Rogerss Perceived Attributes of Innovations, a successful
innovation can be evaluated by five perceived attributes: relative advantage, compatibility,
complexity, trialiabilty, and observability. Relative advantage is the measure of how well an

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i Unmet need is defined as women who want to delay or stop childbearing but are not using
contraception, according to the Unmet Need for Contraception: Fact Sheet published by the
Population Reference Bureau.
ii

WHO Media Centre. "Family Planning Fact Sheet." World Health Organization, accessed April
23, 2014, http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs351/en/
iii
"Family Planning Fact Sheet.
iv
WHO. "Adolescent Pregnancy Fact Sheet." World Health Organization, accessed April 23,
2014, http://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/topics/maternal/adolescent_pregnancy/en/
v
"Adolescent Pregnancy Fact Sheet."
vi
Choice Not Chance: Family planning returns to the international development agenda, The
Economist, July 14, 2012.
vii According to Everett M. Rogers in Diffusion of Innovation, Diffusion is the process in which
an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a
social system.