Educational attainment and its impact on prevalence of sterilization among Indian women

Abstract

Background

Population policies are concerned with maternal and child health, and contraceptive methods have became a priority in recent centuries, especially in underdeveloped and developing countries. Female sterilization is the predominant method of contraception, and it is assumed that every woman is aware of it as a permanent contraception method irrespective of their educational level. This study aimed to assess the impact of educational attainment on distribution of sterilization trends among women with different levels of education.

Method

Data were obtained from the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019–2021), of which 507,316 women were eligible for this study. We considered demographic and socioeconomic factors to model the association between sterilization preferences and the role of educational attainment in shaping their understanding and decisions.

Result

Women with education below the secondary level reported the highest prevalence of sterilization (21.1%), followed by those with secondary education (14.8%), whereas only 1.9% among women with education above the secondary level reported sterilization. This disparity has also been observed across socio-demographic and economic levels, with the highest adjusted odds ratio (95% CI) among women with education below the secondary level, for example, among the richest wealth group [1.65 (1.58-1.73)] and among scheduled tribes [1.25 (1.18-1.32)], but not among scheduled castes. However, the opposite pattern was observed in the 25-34 [4.34 (4.08-4.61)] and 35 and above [6.38 (6.00-6.78)] age groups.

Conclusion

The findings show an inverse link between education and sterilization, with higher rates observed among less-educated women. This trend spans sociodemographic groups, suggesting that education enhances the awareness of and access to family planning options. Therefore, improving female education may play a pivotal role in promoting informed reproductive health decisions and reducing the disproportionate reliance on sterilization, especially among vulnerable populations.