Knowledge, attitude and practise of oral contraceptive pills among postnatal mothers and their impact after educating them

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Introduction: Unintended pregnancies are widespread and may be due to different reasons. In developing countries, every year 55 million unintended pregnancies occur in women not using contraceptive method, another 25 million occur as a result of incorrect or inconsistent use of contraceptive method. Failure to plan a pregnancy can adversely affect the health of mothers. In an effort to reduce maternal deaths in developing countries family planning can be an important step. Contraception is deliberate use of artificial methods or other techniques to prevent pregnancy. Modern contraception began in 1937 when investigators demonstrated the use of progesterone to halt ovulation. The FDA approved the first oral contraceptive as first birth control pill in 1963. Oral contraceptives also known as ‘the pill’ are the most popular method of contraception in many parts of the world. Objective. To assess the knowledge, attitude and practise towards usage of oral contraceptive pills among postnatal mothers.. To assess the impact after explaining about the use of oral contraceptive pills to postnatal mothers.Methods and Materials: This was a cross sectional study conducted among postnatal mothers admitted to obstetrics ward at RLJH during a period of 3 months. Study participants were randomly selected. A detailed history was gathered regarding age, marital status, religion, place of residence, employment, education, socio-economic status, type of delivery, number of deliveries. Structured questionnaire included questions addressing knowledge. Knowledge was measured through direct questions inquiring whether participants know how OC pills manifest their action in the body, how to self-administer OC pills and how to maintain the efficacy of OC pills. Attitude was assessed by asking the participants if they prefer to use OC pills and if they fear side effects. Practices of previous and future use of family planning methods among postnatal women and their impact after educating them regarding oral contraceptive pill were also obtained. Privacy and confidentiality, respect of rights were strictly considered and consent taken during data collection. Data will be collected and entered into the proforma. Data will be analysed for outcome. The results were presented in percentages, means, tables and charts. Results: A total of 104 postpartum women were included in the study. Knowledge of oral contraceptive pill-Majority thinks the basic conditions needed for human pregnancy were sperm, ovum and genital tract. Majority of postnatal women thought that contraceptive knowledge is necessary and both man and women are responsible for contraception. Majority of postnatal women does’nt know about the mechanism of action of oc pills. Majority of women have the knowledge that family planning is essential for the health of the mother. Attitude towards oc pills-Majority have choosen OC pills for their effectiveness and safety. Majority of mothers believes there are side effects by using OC pills. Majority thinks that all syphilis, HIV and genital herpes are sexually transmitted diseases. From majority of postnatal women point of view AIDS is transmitted through blood transfusion and sexual transmission. Practice of oc pills-Majority have used contraception during your first sexual behavior. More than half of the women have choosen OC pills as the contraceptive method. Half of the women uses almost always the contraceptive method. Conclusion: The present study was aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of OC pills among postnatal women in RLJH and their impact after educating them. There is lack of adequate knowledge about oral contraceptive pills among postnatal women and need to educate them about OC pills. Results from knowledge analysis, trend of attitude and practice of OC pills will help to find actionable and qualified information that can be utilized in future.