Abstract
Background Contraceptive practice acceptable to Indian society is said to be associated with socio-economic status, education, practice of the area and other factors. Population stabilization and a gradual lowering of population growth is the basic aim behind contraceptive practice. Objectives The study was conducted to assess current status of contraceptive practice and social covariates (age, type of family, religion, socio-economy, education, etc). Materials and Methods A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among four thousand eligible couples in Howrah and Paschim Midnapore districts of state of West Bengal, India from March to September 2009. By stratified multistage random sampling technique, 32 areas were selected from two districts; villages of sub-centre zone and wards of municipality; from each selected area; 125 eligible couples were interviewed by house to house survey. Results The contraceptive acceptance (prevalence) rate (CAR) by any method was 65.3 percent and couple protection rate (CPR) by approved methods was 58.4 percent in these two districts of West Bengal. In Paschim Midnapore district CAR was higher (67.4%) than Howrah district (63.3%). Similarly in Howrah district CPR was less (54.3%) than Paschim Midnapore district (62.6%). Type of family, age and literacy status of female partners, religion and social class were associated with adoption of family planning methods by the eligible couples with inter-district variation. Conclusion Area specific multipronged tailor-made interventions are needed through Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) for promotion of acceptance of both the temporary & permanent methods of contraception at the appropriate time to achieve small family norm.
Highlights
Planning is a process of thinking and a life style
Area specific multipronged tailor-made interventions are needed through Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) for promotion of acceptance of both the temporary & permanent methods of contraception at the appropriate time to achieve small family norm
Our study revealed that 76.9% of our study population were Hindus, more than two thirds (69.8%) were members of a nuclear family, more than half (56.2%) were in the age group of 29 years, about half of them (40.1%) had no formal education and a sizeable proportion lived below the poverty line (BPL)
Summary
Attitude is an important factor in choosing suitable contraceptive methods[1]. A small family infrastructure is preferred and encouraged in our middle class society as it is considered to promote happiness and well-being. It is universally accepted that family planning services are essential for promoting birth spacing to reduce maternal and infant mortality. If these services were more widely available, up to 42 percent of maternal deaths could be prevented in developing countries. The mean proportion of maternal deaths that could have been averted was 24 percent[2, 3, 4]. Contraceptive practice acceptable to Indian society is said to be associated with socio-economic status, education, practice of the area and other factors. Population stabilization and a gradual lowering of population growth is the basic aim behind contraceptive practice
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
