Magnitude of Family Planning Use in Gardi Village Development Committee of Chitwan district

The estimated contraceptive prevalence rate of Chitwan is based on the data of health management and information system. Therefore, this study aimed to find out the actual magnitude of family planning use among different age groups, castes, educational status, etc. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in Gardi village development committee of Chitwan district from June 15, 2012 to July 5, 2012. A total of 246 married women of reproductive age were studied, who were obtained from 410 households selected from the total households of the village development committee using stratified proportionate random sampling technique. Structured interview was done and data were analyzed using SPSS version 16. Percentages of the variables were calculated and cross-tabulations were done. The percentage of family planning use was 65%, increasing after the age of thirty years- 70% on average in each age group thereafter. More Dalits (76%) used family planning methods than Janajatis (58%). About three quarters of women were met with primary education and 69% of illiterates used family planning, with the least percentage (37%) among those with SLC and above education. Most common method was male sterilization (41%), followed by female sterilization (21%). The reasons for not using family planning were given as: no need of family planning (78%), feared side-effects (17%) and did not know any methods (5%). For an awareness program of family planning, couples with caste Janajati, those having education SLC and above and younger age groups should be given more priority. Key words: Family Planning, Magnitude, Chitwan