Cross-Border Procurement of Contraception: Estimates from a Postpartum Survey in El Paso, Texas

Joseph E. Potter, University of Texas at Austin
Ann M. Moore, University of Texas at Austin
Theresa L. Byrd, University of Texas at Houston

Along the U.S.-Mexico border, U.S. residents have the option of crossing to Mexico to obtain hormonal contraception sold over-the-counter at very low prices in pharmacies. Our data come from a postpartum survey that was carried out with 3,134 women in a public hospital in El Paso, Texas during 1996-1997. Overall, 51% of pills and 60% of injectables were obtained in Mexico. After further screening, among multiparous women these rates fell to 41% and 54%, respectively. Reasons for discontinuation of these methods did not vary according to where the method was obtained. In this Hispanic population, the prevalence of cross-border procurement was highest among women who were born and educated in Mexico. Lower-income mothers in El Paso make substantial use of Mexican pharmacies to procure hormonal contraception. This finding supports the proposition that reducing the medical requirements to acquire pills and injectables and making them available at low cost would augment their use in low-income populations.