Birth Control Plans and Affecting Factors Among Women in Western Nigeria

Background: Birth control is a practice by which couples space the number of years between children they plan to have. It is widely reported that people who do not use any birth control plan may lack access or face barriers to using it. This study is therefore carried out to determine the birth control plans and child spacing, obtain the values and norms that influence the knowledge and practice of contraception, among women of reproductive ages in Western Nigeria with a view to making necessary recommendations that would help improve contraception practices. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in Western Nigeria using a pilot-tested questionnaire. The target population was women of reproductive age group in this district. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the respondent. Statistical test of significance was performed with Chi-Square test. Results: A total of 1219 consenting respondents participated in the study with a mean age ± SD of 32.37 ± 8.95 years. The main reason given for choice of contraception was reliability, main source of information is through government-owned hospital health personnel, male condom is the most widely used current method while heavy menstrual period is the commonly known side effect. Conclusion: Indications show that educational status, religious factor and economic status influence contraception choices, there is therefore need for more campaign and public enlightenment programs on modern contraception methods, importance, choices and benefits, crucially including the religious leaders, in order to fast track, the information spread and further improve the use of modern contraceptive methods. Giris: Dogum kontrolu, ciftlerin, sahip olmayi planladiklari cocuklarin hangi yillar arasinda dogmasini planladiklari bir uygulamadir. Herhangi bir dogum kontrol plani uygulamayan kisilerin uygulamaya erisimlerinin yetersiz olabilecegi ya da kullanmada engellerle karsi karsiya kaldiklari yaygin olarak bildirilmektedir. Dolayisiyla bu calisma, Nijerya’daki ureme caginda bulunan kadinlarin dogum kontrol planlarini ve cocuklarin dogumu arasinda birakilan zamani incelemek, dogum kontrolu uygulamalarini ve bilgilerini etkileyen degerleri ve normlari belirlemek ve dogum kontrolu uygulamalarini gelistirmelerine yardimci olabilecek gerekli onerilerin olusturulabilmesi icin yurutulmustur. Yontem: Kesitsel tipteki bu calisma, Bati Nijerya’da pilot bir anketin kullanilmasiyla gerceklestirildi. Hedef kitle bu bolgede ureme caginda bulunan kadinlardi. Yanitlari degerlendirmek icin cok asamali orneklem yontemi kullanildi. Istatistiksel olarak anlamlilik ki-kare testi ile gerceklestirildi. Sonuclar: Calismaya 1219 katilimci katildi ve ortalama yas ± SD (32.37 ± 8.95) idi. Dogum kontrolunde secilen yontem icin temel neden guvenirlilikti, ana bilgi kaynagi devlet hastanelerinde calisan saglik personeli idi, en sik kullanilan yontem erkek kondomu (prezervatif) iken en yaygin bilinen yan etkisi ise yogun menstruel kanamaydi. Tartisma: Gostergeler; egitim durumunun, din faktorunun ve ekonomik durumun dogum kontrolu yontemi secimlerini etkiledigini gostermektedir; bu nedenle, modern dogum kontrol yontemleri ile bunun onemi, secenekleri ve yararlari konusunda toplumu aydinlatacak daha fazla program ve en onemlisi dini liderleri de iceren kampanyalara gereksinim bulunmaktadir ki bilgi akisi hizlanip modern dogum kontrol yontemleri kullanimi gelisip yayginlasabilsin.