Chinese women have, by international standards, a comparatively low rate of birth
control pill use. This study attempts, through interviews with social scientists and pharmacy
surveys, to determine why women do not choose contraceptive pills more often. Interviews
with patients and doctors reveal that there are several factors which combine to strongly
dissuade women from using birth control pills. Policy makers in the past preferred methods
not prone to patient tampering, doctors tend to rate side effects as high, and effectiveness as
relatively low, and women have internalized both of these attitudes. Women themselves trust
IUDs because of the perceived risks of hormonal methods, but these attitudes are shifting
with time. In addition, Chinese women are often not given a choice in the birth control
method they choose, although this too is changing.