Demographic and Health Surveys Methodology - Measure DHS

AssumptionsWomen who are not currently married and who have not had sexual intercourse within the 30 dayspreceding the survey (or four weeks if reported in weeks) are assumed to have no need for familyplanning.In “B” core questionnaire surveys, there is no information on pregnancies and births due to contraceptivefailure, which is therefore assumed to be zero in the calculation of total demand.Changes over TimeSeveral changes occurred in the calculation of need for family planning. The latest are the following: Forlater phase III and phase IV surveys, declarations of infecundity were included, as well as the lack ofbirths in the preceding five years, as an indication of infecundity. Also, the question on whether it wouldbe a problem if a woman found out that she were pregnant in the next few weeks was added in thedetermination of unmet need for women who are undecided on whether they want another child or whenthey want another child. Due to these changes, comparisons of unmet need and demand for familyplanning between surveys may not be valid if based on country reports.In previous published reports, the denominator for women not currently married was limited to womenwho had had sexual intercourse in the 30 days (or four weeks) preceding the survey.Guide to DHS Statistics 86 Updated September 2006