Abstract: Background: The increasing population has been amongst the most important challenges faced by human beings globally. More than 40% of pregnancies worldwide are unintended. A variety of different methods of contraception are available, which are generally extremely safe compared with the risks associated with pregnancy and childbirth. Not all methods are suitable for everyone, so cafeteria approach is used. A lack of knowledge of contraceptive methods or a source of supply, cost and poor accessibility are the barriers that exist in developing countries.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 women of reproductive age group attending the OPD in Community Health Centre, Basohli, Jammu, J&K over a period of 6 months from September 2019 to January 2020. This is a rural area in North India. A predesigned self-structured questionnaire was used to collect data. The questionnaire had 3 sections including the socio-demographic data, the knowledge and awareness regarding contraception and contraceptive practices.
Results: A total of 300 females were included in the study. It was seen that maximum females i.e. 166 out of 300 (55.33%) belonged to 20-30 years age group. 95.33% females had heard about one or the other form of contraceptive methods. It was seen that only 152 females out of 300 were using some method of contraception. Most commonly barrier contraceptives were used. Maximum females used contraceptive methods as they had completed their families. A significant number of females i.e. 134 out of 300 were not using any form of contraception and lack of proper knowledge was the most important reason for not using contraception
Conclusion: Our study suggests that amongst the rural females the knowledge, attitude and practices towards family planning and contraceptive practices is limited. With the ongoing increase in India’s population new awareness programmes and policies must be made to increase the contraceptive practices.
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