A STUDY ON FAMILY PLANNING PRACTICES AMONG MARRIED WOMEN OF 15–49 YEARS OF AGE IN URBAN SLUMS OF GUWAHATI (METRO) CITY, ASSAM

Jutika Ojah; Achyut Chandra Baishya; Sthapana Sharma; Pankaj Jyoti Barman

Volume : VII, Issue : III, March - 2018

A STUDY ON FAMILY PLANNING PRACTICES AMONG MARRIED WOMEN OF 15–49 YEARS OF AGE IN URBAN SLUMS OF GUWAHATI (METRO) CITY, ASSAM

Jutika Ojah, Achyut Chandra Baishya, Sthapana Sharma, Pankaj Jyoti Barman

Abstract :

Introduction– Population explosion is one of the burning issues in the present context of India. Guwahati, the gateway of North east India has also witnessed heavy population

explosion throughout the last few decades, with underutilization of family planning practices. Therefore the present study is undertaken to assess the practice of family planning methods in slum areas of Guwahati (Metro) city of Assam.

Materials and Methods– The present cross sectional study was carried out for a period of 6 months from July, 2017 to December, 2017 in different slums of greater Guwahati city of Kamrup (Metro) district of Assam. A total of 552 women were selected for the study. A predesigned and pretested semi structured schedule was used to interview the women. The findings of the study were tabulated and presented as percentage.

Results– Majority (79.5%) of the mothers are in the age group of 20–30 years. Only 46.4% of the respondents are currently using contraceptive methods. Oral contraceptive pill is the preferred method (38.3%) for family planning. There is a significant association between educational status as well as number of living children with use of family planning methods (P< .001).

Conclusion– Proper family planning practice among the women of reproductive age group can help in stabilization of population of India, which is need of the hour. Strengthening NUHM with suitably equipped family planning services and involvement of NGOs will surely lead family planning practices up to par.