PIP: A survey of family planning practices in Puerto Rico was conducted in 1982. Based on interviews with women 15-49 years old, the survey included 3,175 women who constituted a representative stratified sample of the Puerto Rican population. Information was obtained about each subject's history of pregnancies, married life, contraceptive use, fertility, maternal and child health, breastfeeding, migration, education, employment, and attitude on abortion. The survey indicated that some 46% of all Puerto Rican woman 15-49 years old and 70% of all married women in this age range were using contraception in 1982. Sterilization (principally female sterilization) was the most common method, being used by 42.6% of the married interview subjects. The pill and other reversible methods tended to be more popular among the younger women, with sterilization becoming markedly more common among older age groups and women with 2 or more children. Sterilization was also used by a higher % of woman who had not finished high school. The prevalence of contraceptive practices among woman on the island (around 70%) compares facvorably with the US. Sterilization is the method preferred by Puerto Rican women. However, the high prevalence of young women who are sterilized after having the number of children they want indicates a need to provide information about suitable methods of birth spacing and access to such methods in order to project maternal health.