Unmet Need for Family Planning among Married Women of Reproductive Age in An Egyptian Village

Abstract

Background: Women with unmet need for family planning (FP) comprise an enormous part of married women of conceptive age in developing countries. In 2015, the estimated percentage of married women with unmet for FP was estimated as 12%. Many socioeconomic and reproductive factors influence the high prevalence of unmet need. Objective: The study was conducted to estimate the contraceptive prevalence rate and the percent of unmet need and to investigate the determinants of unmet needs among studied women. Methods: A cross sectional study with analytical components was carried out between January and May 2019 at Shoha primary health care center, Mansoura District, Dakahlia Governorate on 400 currently married women in childbearing age. A questionnaire used to obtain both socio-demographic and reproductive data. Result: The prevalence of unmet need for family planning was 9.8%. The risk of unmet need was 2.46 more times among working women and 3.39 more times among women having children aged less than two years Conclusion: A considerable proportion of rural Egyptian women still have an unmet need. The need for more effective FP program is very crucial in combating this problem.