Changes in the Practice of Contraceptive Prevalence - An Observational Study

Abstract

Family planning is an essential tool for reducing fertility rate. An increase in contraceptive prevalence rate results in reduction of population growth, which in turn contributes significantly to the improvement of people's health. It is a cross-sectional, descriptive type, observational study done during April-July 2007 in a large Medical Centre. Reproductive history was used as research instrument for data collection. The present study aimed at exploring Contraceptive prevalence and related issue among service holder and regulation of fertility among them. Two thirty one (231) women (childbearing age ) were selected randomly to find out their contraceptive prevalence. Eighty four (n=197) percent women need family planning service . Thirty three(33.53 %)percent couple practice barrier method, twenty two(22.54%) percent use oral pill, female sterilization is 9.25percent,injectable(DMPA) 5.78 percent,7.97percent mixed method .There is progressive decline in oral pill use from 55% to 26%. Fertility rate, menstruation regulation is lower among servicing women. Education, empowerment and social position of women help to reduce fertility. Introduction:Optimum period for child delivery, prevention of unwanted pregnancy by safe contraception, and birth of wanted children are known to be the main directions in family planning. Family planning not only offer contraceptive benefit, it also ensure improvement in women's health, child health ,decrease infant and maternal death, decrease population growth and ultimately enhance the socio economic development. Fertility status (fecundity) is largely determined by age at marriage, age at 1 st child birth, birth space, and use of contraceptives. These variables are indirectly regulated by income, nutrition, housing, education and medical care of the people. There are evidenced that conditional cash transfer or improvement in socio economic condition have unintended effect on fertility control. 1, 2