Reproductive health knowledge, beliefs and determinants of contraceptives use among women attending family planning clinics in Ibadan, Nigeria

Background: In developing countries especially in Africa, reproductive ill health have been a great concern to many stakeholders as maternal mortality and morbidity are very high compared to developed world. Also reproductive health knowledge and access to quality of care maternal health services in Africa are poor with significant health consequences. Appropriate reproductive health knowledge, belief and will power of women to access quality family planning services (preventive and curative) are essential for improvement in reproductive health of women. Objective: The study aimed to assess reproductive health knowledge, beliefs and influential factors of contraceptives use among women attending family planning clinics in Ibadan, Nigeria. Method: The study was cross-sectional in nature involving 550 randomly selected respondents among women attending family planning clinics in Ibadan, Nigeria. The study instrument was a self-administered questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS package. Results: Only 56.0% of the respondents knew when pregnancy can occur, 31.5% believed that having sex once with a man will not result in pregnancy. Almost in all items, over 90.0% of respondents had knowledge of benefits of family planning. Consideration about personal health (86.0%) and husband's approval (74.9%) were major determinants of respondents use of contraceptives. Conclusion: Though respondents were knowledgeable about benefits of family planning, there is the need for continuous education of women about reproductive health issues and integration of men's participation in family planning programme to increase utilization of family planning services in Ibadan, Nigeria. African Health Sciences Vol. 6(3) 2006: 155-15