Attitude To, and Knowledge and Practice of Family Planning Among Women of Child-Bearing Age Attending Selected Hospitals in Osogbo, Nigeria

Abstract

Unplanned child birth generates serious health and financial problems for families, and results in a population explosion in the presence of inadequate infrastructure. In spite of the various awareness creation campaigns on family planning, many women are still ignorant of its importance; some believe that children are gifts from God and women should bear children without any restrictions. This study therefore sought to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of family planning among women of child-bearing age attending selected hospitals in Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was administered to 200 purposively selected women of child-bearing age attending the two largest infant welfare clinics in Osogbo. The mean age of the participants was 26.23 (SD ± 1.23) years. The majority (170; 85%) were married, had 3-4 children (114; 57%) and were Muslim (118; 59%). Most (130; 65%) of the participants had secondary level education. Almost all the participants (194; 97%) were knowledgeable about family planning and contraception and all of them practised it. About 70% of the women had a good attitude to family planning. There was a significant relationship between education qualification (p < 0.000) and parity (p < 0.000) and women’s attitude to family planning. Likewise, there was a significant relationship between the family planning knowledge of women of child-bearing age as well as their practice of family planning (p < 0.000). The study showed that these women in the selected hospitals had good knowledge of and attitudes to family planning and applied good practices.