A hospital-based comparative study of the knowledge, attitudes and practices of family planning among women belonging to different socio-economic status

Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of family planning among women belonging to different socio-economic status Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in the outpatient department of three hospitals of Ziauddin University based on the socioeconomic divide. Total 351 married females of reproductive age group with at least one child were selected after informed consent through non probability convenience sampling. Data was analyzed by using SPSS version 21. Result: The preferred method of contraception in all three groups was a male condom30.9%. The upper socioeconomic group relied more on the modern methods of contraception 92% while the middle socioeconomic group relied on modern 71.7% as well as natural methods of contraception 28.3%. Use of contraceptives was comparatively lower in the low socioeconomic group 19.5%. Lower socioeconomic group also had the most children per family with mean and standard deviation of 3.6+/-2.3 and also had the highest number of desired children with mean and standard deviation of 4+/-1.4. The general reasons for avoiding contraceptives were difficulty in getting pregnant (11.1%), the want for more children (10.2%), infrequent sexual intercourse (10.0%) and fear of side effects (6.9%). Conclusion: Awareness of contraception was found lowest in the lower socioeconomic class, with the elite class using a high percentage of contraceptives.