Awareness and Acceptance of Contraception in Postpartum Women in Our Tertiary Hospital in Central India

Abstract

Introduction: Contraception is an important intervention to reduce unwanted pregnancy and promote healthy and better living among women. As the population continues to rise, there will be overcrowding, a limiting of resources, and the quality of life will decline. India, as the first country in the world, initiated the National Family Planning program in the year 1951 with the objective of “reducing the birth rate to the extent necessary to stabilize the population at a level consistent with requirement of national economy.” Objectives: (1) To study awareness, acceptance, and preferred method of contraception among postpartum women. (2) To identify the reasons for rejection of contraceptive methods. (3) To contribute to the development of knowledge in the area of family planning. Materials and methods: The study is a community-based cross-sectional observational study. The study was conducted among postpartum women in reproductive age group who delivered in our hospital in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College & Hospital, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India. A total of 480 married women were interviewed in the local language using a pretested questionnaire. Their level of awareness, acceptance, and reason for acceptance/refusal was assessed. Results: A total of 65.2% of women were aware of at least one method of contraception; 73.9% women were using a contraceptive at the time of study; 34.8% women were unaware of any health care facility providing contraceptives in the vicinity. Maximum number of women preferred intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD; 38.8%) as their first choice. Knowledge and practice of emergency contraceptive was very low. Main reason for nonacceptance of contraceptive was lack of knowledge and fear of side effects. Health professionals were the main source of knowledge. Conclusion: There is till date lack of awareness of contraception in some postpartum women. Regular counseling is a must to all pregnant women from every health care center in a village to superspeciality centers in cities. Information should be provided about various methods of contraception and patient should be able to choose a method of her choice.