Abstract
BackgroundLong acting and permanent contraceptive methods are the most effective family planning (FP) methods to prevent pregnancy and thereby averting adverse consequences of too many and ill-timed pregnancies. However, long acting and permanent contraceptive methods (LAPMs) are underutilized in Ethiopia for little documented reasons. Therefore, this study is aimed to assess magnitude and factors associated with desire for birth spacing for at least 2 years or limiting child bearing and non-use of LAPMs among married women of reproductive age in Aksum town, Northern Ethiopia.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Aksum town, North Ethiopia from May to June, 2015 among 779 randomly selected married women of reproductive age. Data were collected using interviewer administered pre-tested questionnaire. Data were entered using Epi-Info version 6.04 and exported to SPSS version 16 for analysis. Multivariate logistic regression models were fitted to identify factors associated with desire for birth spacing or limiting and not using LAPMs.ResultsThe total desire for birth spacing or limiting was 69 % and amongst those women 85.2 % were not using LAPM. Education, occupation, husband’s attitude towards LAPMs, age, number of pregnancy, regular media exposure and decider on the number of children to bear were significantly associated with desire for birth spacing or limiting. Moreover; education, occupation, husband’s attitude towards LAPMs, discussion on family planning with husband, knowledge, attitude and intention to use LAPMs were significantly associated with not using LAPMs.ConclusionDesire for birth spacing or limiting and not using LAPMs is very high in the study area. Therefore, increasing access to family planning information and services with special emphasis on LAPMs and male involvement in the program are very important.
Highlights
Long acting and permanent contraceptive methods are the most effective family planning (FP) methods to prevent pregnancy and thereby averting adverse consequences of too many and ill-timed pregnancies
When two or more married women were in a selected household, only one of them was considered by lottery method to participate in the study, to avoid intra-class correlation
Socio-demographic characteristics of respondents Out of the total 806 sampled married women, 779 women were included in the study with response rate of 96.7 %
Summary
Long acting and permanent contraceptive methods are the most effective family planning (FP) methods to prevent pregnancy and thereby averting adverse consequences of too many and ill-timed pregnancies. Long-acting and permanent methods of contraception (LAPMs) are modern family planning (FP) methods that prevent pregnancy for three or more years per application. 57 % of the 1.6 billion women of reproductive age desire to space births for at least 2 years or to limit childbearing at all [5] Satisfying this total demand for contraception could prevent 52 million unintended pregnancies per year which would result in 500,000 fewer new born deaths and 70,000 fewer maternal deaths each year from the current status. About 20–30 % of women who use short acting methods of contraception stop within 2 years of starting due to health concerns Many of these women could benefit from switching to LAPMs [9]
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