2025/06/28 by Nora Müller, Theresa Nutz, Katrin Firl +1 · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics
paper · pdf · doi:10.31235/osf.io/ngdez_v3
openalex created_date 2025/06/28 · openalex publication_date 2025/06/28 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/14
Contraceptive use is essential to reproductive autonomy for both genders, yet the burdens involved – referred to as contraceptive labor – are unequally distributed and largely borne by women. Existing frameworks focus mainly on the benefits of contraception, such as pregnancy prevention or autonomy, while neglecting the physical, emotional, and logistical efforts required to achieve these outcomes. This paper introduces the ContraIndex, a formative, multidimensional tool designed to measure contraceptive labor and returns from a female perspective. Developed using the MARI method, the index comprises ten indicators grouped into four subdimensions – Costs, Risks, Benefits, and Potentials – embedded in two overarching constructs: Contraceptive Labor and Returns. To develop the index, we created a novel, systematically coded dataset of 22 contraceptive methods, based on method characteristics derived from medical sources, clinical guidelines, and product leaflets. By capturing returns net of labor, the ContraIndex enables standardized, cross-method comparisons. Initial results show that methods offering the highest returns (e.g., hormonal IUDs) are often associated with the highest labor demands, whereas low-labor methods tend to offer more limited benefits. The ContraIndex thus reveals structural trade-offs in contraceptive decision-making and provides a foundation for user-centered counseling, equitable method design, feminist health policy, and future research.