A Study to Estimate the Prevalence of Unmet need for Contraception in Kaniyambadi Block in Vellore District of Tamil Nadu - A Cross Sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION : The National Population policy 2000 states that the immediate objective is to address the Unmet need for contraceptive services.(1) According to the latest census the population of India as on March 31, 2001 was 102.7 crores which is three times the population 50 years Ago. As regards fertility rates, India may be able to achieve the population replacement level Of TFR 2.1 only by 2016 against the NPP target of 2010. International Conference on Population Development held in 1994 at Cairo, resolved that the Sexual and reproductive health of women be considered as a priority, since its effects extend Into all other development goals and targets. It also underlined the importance of reproductive Health from the point of view of sexual and reproductive health rights of women. For decades the demographers could not come to a common ground with the women’s rights Proponents. Unmet need for contraception is a unique measure because it has the potential to Address the concerns of the demographers and the rights proponents together. Unmet need for contraception determines the percentage of fecund women in reproductive Age group who want to delay or avoid childbirth but are not using any contraceptive method. Such an enquiry helps also to find out the reasons and therefore inform the family planning Program about the needs of the community in terms of their fertility preferences. India was one of the few countries who took the initiative to change her population policy From targets based approach to voluntary family planning programs at a time when the International community was not convinced about the effectiveness of such a strategy. Ever Since India has seen encouraging results in the states that have managed to implement the Program adequately and effectively. But this success is distributed differentially across the Various subgroups of women. India has the largest number of women who experience unwanted or mistimed pregnancy. A considerable number of these women resort to unsafe abortion, putting their lives and Reproductive health at risk. OBJECTIVES : 1. To measure the prevalence of unmet need for contraception among married Women between the ages of 15 and 49 years in Kaniyambadi block in Vellore District of Tamil Nadu. 2. To assess the knowledge about modern methods of contraception among Married women of reproductive age 15 – 49 years among the same. 3. To identify the reasons for unmet need for contraception in this community 4. To study the factors associated with unmet need for contraception. SUMMARY : This was a cross-sectional study carried out in a rural population in Tamil Nadu, to determine the prevalence of unmet need for contraception, the knowledge, attitude and practices about contraception and to determine the reasons for non – use. A total of 850 married women between the ages of 15 and 49 were included in the study. The study used a two stage sampling technique and 9 villages were selected from 83 villages in the population frame. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information from the participants after having taken consent. A large number of women want no more children (85.8%). The mean number of children at home for a woman is 2.06. 75% of women report 2 children as the ideal no. of children. Specifically targeting women who are fit for spacing and encouraging them to space their second and later children would be a worthwhile option in family planning practice for the population. Adding a parameter to assess the unmet need for spacing in the population database would be a step to facilitate this process