Ruth Dixon-Mueller ^1* Adrienne Germain ²

¹ Independent consultant
² International Women's Health Coalition

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: dixonmueller{at}yahoo.com.

	Abstract

Abstract Although several key elements of sexual and reproductive health are included in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, a measure of women's capacity to regulate their fertility safely and effectively is missing. We considered the usefulness of 3 pairs of indicators in monitoring this component of reproductive health: contraceptive prevalence and total fertility; unmet need for contraception and unplanned births; and unsafe abortion and abortion mortality.

A single measure of contraceptive use is insufficient. The risks women face from unplanned births and unsafe abortion should also be incorporated into the monitoring process, either directly within the Millennium Development Goals framework or as a parallel effort by reporting governments and other agencies.

Key Words: Abortion, Contraception, Birth Control, Health Policy, Sexual Health, Women's Health