Fertility Desires and Contraceptive Practices of Rural Women in Sokoto, North Western Nigeria
Oche Mansur Oche *
Department of Community Health, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria and Department of Community Medicine, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria.
Jessica Timane Ango
Department of Community Medicine, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria.
Tukur Dahiru
Department of Community Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
Godwin Jiya Gana
Department of Community Medicine, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria.
Rufai Liman
Department of Community Health, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria.
Khadijah Mormoni
Department of Community Health, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria.
Bello Ibrahim
Department of Community Health, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Aim: This study aimed at determining fertility desires and contraceptive practices of rural women in Sokoto as well as factors affecting them.
Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted, involving 218 women who were recruited using a multi-stage sampling technique. An Interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to obtain data from the respondents, which was entered into and analysed using IBM SPSS version 20.
Results: About sixty-seven percent of the respondents desired more than five children and more than half desired shorter birth interval of two years. A large proportion (87.4%) of the respondents were aware of contraception in which friends and relatives, as well as health personal, were the main sources of information. Only 4.9% of the respondents were currently on contraception. Major reasons for low contraceptives usage include religious inhibitions, husband disapproval and fear of side effects
Conclusion: In this study, the respondents had high fertility desires and although a large proportion of them was aware of contraception, very few of them used it. We, therefore, recommended that health workers should create more awareness on the benefits of contraception.
Keywords: Fertility, contraceptive, rural women, Sokoto.