Why do many women stop using contraception even when options and services are available in the Philippines?

The answer isn’t just about access or clinical provisions – it lies in the complex social, relational, and emotional factors that shape women’s choices over time. From partner dynamics, stigma, norms around fertility, and inconsistent support from providers – these are subtle, often invisible forces that drive discontinuation. How can we better understand and address the full spectrum of factors shaping women’s contraceptive journeys?

To understand these realities, we took a Social and Behaviour Change approach and spoke directly with women across ages, literacy levels, and life situations, through ethnographic research – interviews where we conducted fieldwork across multiple regions to engage users in story-based conversations.

Their stories revealed hidden challenges: low confidence in managing side effects, uncertainty about switching methods, pressure from partners or family, and the emotional weight of navigating reproductive decisions in socially conservative environments. Building on these insights, we brought women, partners, health workers, and community members together in co-design sessions to turn findings into action. Ten early concepts were refined into six prototypes, each targeting key behavioural and social levers—strengthening provider counselling, supporting couple communication, shifting community norms, and building women’s self-efficacy. Over 150 users in Manila tested and iterated these prototypes, shaping interventions that resonated deeply with their lived experiences.

This work put women’s experiences, voices, and choices at the centre. By co-designing with women, partners, and health workers, we surfaced insights that traditional approaches often miss, ensuring interventions address the real social, behavioural, and emotional factors influencing contraceptive use. The resulting Contraceptive Discontinuation Testing Toolkit equips programme teams with practical, user-centred resources—from conversation guides and community programmes to provider training and digital tools—that can be adapted and scaled. More importantly, it empowers women to feel informed, supported, and confident in their decisions, creating a system that values clarity, trust, and dignity at every step.