"Introduction: Contraception is a huge matter of concern in India- a developing country with very high and rapid growing population. Thus it is essential to promote contraceptive knowledge and en-sure its uptake. The present studys aim was to evaluate level of awareness of contraception among participants, and assess the factors that influence womens awareness and choice of contraception.
Methodology: The cross sectional study was conducted among premenopausal married females aged 21-45 from Government Lady Goschen Hospital, Mangaluru. A semi structured questionnaire was used to collect information. Data was analyzed using SPSS20.
Results: The awareness of contraceptive methods was as fol-lows: condom (90.9%), oral contraception pill (51.5%), tubal ligation (60.63%), intrauterine device (55.85%), natural method (22.87%) and hormonal IUD (24.3%). The most important factor affecting the choice of contraception was Health Care Professionals Advice (51.58%) followed by Partners Opinion (43.61%). Among intrinsic factors, the choice of contraception was most influenced by Convenience (30.85%), followed by Side Effects (26.59%), Duration of Action (21.8%), Non Contraceptive Benefits (11.17%), Reversibility (5.31%) and Cost (4.25%).
Conclusion: A reassuring trend was noticed in the factors affecting choice of contraception. More than half the study population was aware of the contraceptive methods widely prescribed in Mangaluru."
Key words: Contraceptives, Awareness, Knowledge, Mangaluru
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