Although Italian women are the most sexually active in Europe, only a minority use the pill, according to a new study.
The study was carried out on a cross section of 11,490 women between the ages of 15 and 49 in 14 countries for the European Society of Contraception.
The report was illustrated here on Monday at the headquarters of Bayer Schering Pharma, during the presentation of their new birth control pill.
According to the study, 59% of Italian women have sex at least once, compared to 57% in the Czech Republic, 56% in Russia, 55% in France and 54% in Spain.
The study found that only 29% of Italian women used the pill, compared to a European average of over 34%, while the vast majority preferred 'natural' methods or condoms.
Sardinian women were those in Italy who used the pill the most (28.6%), followed by those in Val D'Aosta (22.8%), Liguria (19.9%) and Emilia Romagna (19.4%).
The pill was the contraception method least used in the southern regions of Campania (7.6% and Basilicata (7.3%).
According to the head of the gynecology ward at the University of Pisa's Santa Chiara Hospital, Franca Fruzzetti, Italian women "remain reluctant to use the pill over because they are still not convinced hormones are really effective".
The percentage of European women who use no contraceptive device was relatively high, with 30% admitting they did not use any contraceptives in their first sexual relationship. and only 20% consulting with a gynecologist before becoming sexually active.
According to the report, while European women on an average first consider using contraceptives at the age of 18, 16 in Germany and Scandinavia, in Italy and Spain the average rises to 20 years.
The report also found that while the average European woman thought 25 was the best age to have a first child, one third of the Italians interviewed that it best to wait until they were 30.
