COITUS-INTERRUPTUS IN THE 20TH-CENTURY

Coitus interruptus, commonly called withdrawal, is a contraceptive method that currently receives little attention in population studies. Nevertheless, withdrawal can be used with considerable efficiency and, despite a general decline of its use in Northern and Western Europe, North America, and Australia, remains important in some countries of Southern and Eastern Europe. Evidence from Australia shows that it also survives among some Southern European immigrant populations. Among different peoples the properties of withdrawal variously disqualify it from consideration or recommend its use. The decline and persistence of the use of withdrawal therefore carry important lessons about the special nature both of the method and of the societies in which it continues to be used despite the availability of a variety of modem methods. In particular, the method's survival in Southern European populations is a useful reminder that there is no ''best'' contraceptive, that families can be planned without recourse to outside assistance, and that efficient contraception need not be modem contraception.